Cubs history is made with wild card win over Padres

The Chicago Cubs made history on Thursday as they beat the San Diego Padres to advance to the National League Division Series.

The series was only the second time the Cubs and Padres had met in the postseason, with San Diego capturing the 1984 National League Championship Series to advance to their first-ever World Series.

This time around it was the Cubs’ turn however, and in capturing the victory they did something that they had never done before.

Going into Thursday’s game, the Cubs were 0-3 all-time at Wrigley Field when facing a winner-take-all playoff game. The Cubs had previously lost Game 7 of the 1945 World Series to the Detroit Tigers, Game 7 of the 2003 National League Championship Series against the Florida Marlins, and the 2018 National League Wild Card Game against the Colorado Rockies.

This time around was different however, as the Cubs won a do-or-die game at Wrigley Field for the first time ever, capturing a 3-1 victory over the Padres.

What’s more, Thursday’s game marked only the third time in Cubs history that they had clinched a playoff series victory on their home field.

The previous two instances were also fairly recent, with the Cubs winning Game 4 of the 2015 NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals and Game 6 of the 2016 NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Friendly Confines.

Surprisingly for the Cubs, they did buck a bit of history in the winner-take-all game. According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, home teams are now 65-67 in winner-take-all games, with the Cubs winning and the Cleveland Guardians losing on Thursday.

For now, the Cubs will have to turn their attention to making more history, as they will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the postseason for the first time ever. The Cubs will be looking to win an NLDS series for just the fifth time in their history, having previously done so in 2003, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Game 1 of the series is set for Saturday in Milwaukee, with the start time yet to be determined.