Back-to-back homers lift Cubs over Padres 3-1 in Game 1 of wild-card series

Seiya Suzuki crossed home plate and put about as much power into his high-five with Carson Kelly as he had into the swing that sent the game-tying home run into a sea of roaring fans in the left-field bleachers.

“He was pretty juiced, I’ve got to say,” Kelly said after the Cubs’ 3-1 win against the Padres Tuesday in Game 1 of the wild-card series. “A lot of passion for this game.”

Then, as if that energy had been passed from one player to another, Kelly launched the go-ahead homer over the left-field wall.

Those back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning Tuesday were the turning point in the game, as the Cubs claimed their first postseason win since 2017.

It was just the fourth time in postseason history that the Cubs have hit back-to-back home runs, according to mlb.com. The most recent was 2016, when Miguel Montero and Dexter Fowler’s consecutive homers helped lift the Cubs over the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS.

“It’s huge,” Kelly said of winning Game 1 on Tuesday. “Having a chance to clinch tomorrow and move to the next round is all you can ask for.”

Postseason history puts an even finer point on it. In the 20 wild-card series since the best-of-three format was introduced in 2022, the team that won Game 1 has advanced to the league division series in all but two cases.

The Cubs’ victory Tuesday was a well-balanced effort, from left-handed starter Matthew Boyd deftly navigating traffic on the bases, to the bullpen shutting down the Padres offense for 4 ⅔ innings, to a defensive effort that included a pair of highlight-reel plays from shortstop Dansby Swanson.

Offense was the biggest unknown for the Cubs entering the playoffs. Though their bats had been heating back up toward the end of the regular season, it wasn’t guaranteed that the trend would continue.

In the Cubs’ last two wild-card appearances, after all, the team managed just two runs across three games.

The Cubs topped that total on Tuesday alone. And all three players who drove in runs came up big in the first MLB playoff game of their careers.

To begin the game Thursday, the Padres offense was doing a far better job exerting pressure on the posing team’s starter. Through the first four innings, the Cubs had put on just one baserunner against right-hander Nick Pivetta.

“No one’s panicking,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “But obviously you get deeper in a game with no runs – and just huge uplifting swings from Seiya and Carson there against Pivetta, who was throwing the ball really well, and really flipped that game around.”

Suzuki, who hit five home runs in the Cubs’ last four regular-season games, turned on a thigh-high fastball and ripped it out with a 112 mph exit velocity.

“I can’t really explain it,” Suzuki said through Japanese interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “With the past week coming into this game, I feel like there’s been a playoff switch that’s been turned on.”

Then Kelly battled to a 2-2 count before sending a letter-high fastball for a ride.

As both teams’ relievers took over, the offensive roles reversed. The Padres failed to rally. And against San Diego’s heralded bullpen, the Cubs chipped away.

In the eighth inning, Swanson led off with a single, advanced to second on Matt Shaw’s sacrifice bunt, and took third on a wild pitch. Then Hoerner sent a sacrifice fly to center field to give the Cubs a little cushion.

“He seems to always get the job done in those kinds of moments,” Swanson said of Hoerner. “But to be able to add on and give yourself an extra run of breathing room is huge.”

With a win Wednesday, the Cubs would punch their ticket to an NL Division Series against the Brewers. But with the breathing room that comes with a Game 1 victory, if they lose, they’ll get another shot Thursday.