Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly belted back-to-back homers to lead off the fifth inning, lifting the host Chicago Cubs to a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of their National League wild-card series on Tuesday.
Daniel Palencia (1-0) struck out two and retired all five batters he faced in relief of starter Matthew Boyd. Former Padre Drew Pomeranz retired the side in order in the seventh inning, Andrew Kittredge did the same in the eighth and Brad Keller followed suit in the ninth to secure the save.
Chicago, which last reached the postseason in 2020, will look to wrap up the best-of-three series at home on Wednesday afternoon.
Nico Hoerner collected two of his team’s six hits and added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning off former Cub Jeremiah Estrada.
Xander Bogaerts ripped an RBI double in the second inning and had two of the four hits for the Padres.
Chicago was limited to just one hit through the first four innings before Suzuki and Kelly emphatically erased a 1-0 deficit.
Suzuki deposited a 2-1 fastball from Nick Pivetta (0-1) over the wall in center field and Kelly sent a 2-2 fastball into the seats in left-center field.
Suzuki’s homer was his sixth in the last five games, while Kelly’s blast was his first since Sept. 10.
Pivetta permitted two runs on three hits while striking out nine batters in five innings.
Jackson Merrill doubled to lead off the second inning and trotted home after Bogaerts drove the ball that one-hopped to the wall in center field. Bogaerts advanced to third base on a throwing error, however Boyd retired the next three batters to limit the damage.
The Padres also threatened in the fourth inning after Manny Machado advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt and an infield single. Boyd, however, induced a pop out to shallow center field and a flyout to end the inning.
