Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/29/26): Padres 8, Cubs 0 – San Diego Rolls in Game 1

The Cubs had a wildly disappointing opening to the playoffs when they got absolutely crushed by the Padres in the first game of the National League Wild Card series. The home team hit a home run on the first pitch they saw Tuesday night and things went downhill from there in a shutout loss.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the aforementioned solo shot off of Matthew Boyd, and Manny Machado followed two batters later with his own dinger to make it 2-0 San Diego. Machado added an RBI double in the bottom of the 3rd to increase the advantage to 3-0.

Chicago could do absolutely nothing against starter Michael King, failing to record a hit until the top of the 6th. Xander Bogaerts took Boyd deep in the bottom of the 4th to make it a 4-0 game.

San Diego kept pouring it on with a two-run single by Jackson Merrill off of Ryan Rolison, followed by a passed ball by catcher Carson Kelly to increase the margin to 7-0 in the bottom of the 5th. The home team got one more in the 7th when Tatis stole second base and came all the way around to score when Kelly threw the ball into the outfield. The North Siders could not scratch out a run and went down 8-0. (Box score)

Key Moment

The home crowd at Petco Park was primed to explode and they got the chance immediately with the leadoff home run. It seemed like the Cubs could never recover from it.

Why the Cubs Lost

They did not look good in any aspect of the game on Tuesday. The offense, pitching, and defense were all bad in this one.

Stats That Matter

• Much like he did in the playoffs last season, Boyd had big-time home run problems in Game one: 4 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 4 K, and 1 BB.
• Nico Hoerner had two of Chicago’s three hits Tuesday.

Bottom Line

The Cubs did not look good going into the playoffs, but they looked even worse to begin the postseason. They were completely flat and didn’t do anything all night long in a lifeless performance. There was just nothing positive to take away from that one. It goes without saying, if they don’t change things in a big way Wednesday, the season will be over.

On Deck

Game two of the series is Wednesday night at 9:05pm CT. The Cubs are starting Kevin Gausman and the Padres are going with Nick Pivetta in a game streaming on Peacock and also showing on NBC Sports Network with radio coverage on The Score.