CHICAGO (Interstat) — In a taut, tense opener defined by dominant pitching and two decisive swings, the Chicago Cubs defeated the San Diego Padres 3-1 on Tuesday evening at a sold-out Wrigley Field to claim a 1-0 lead in their National League playoff series.

A crowd of 39,114 watched as the Cubs’ bullpen delivered 4 2/3 innings of perfect relief, extinguishing any hope of a Padres comeback after back-to-back fifth-inning home runs by Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly overturned an early San Diego lead.

The game, which lasted 2 hours and 25 minutes, was a stark departure from pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had forecast a 7-5 Padres victory, and San Diego entered as a 1.5-run favorite. Instead, the contest became a low-scoring pitchers’ duel, with the total of four runs falling well under the over/under line of 7.

The Padres struck first in the second inning against Cubs starter Matthew Boyd. Jackson Merrill led off with a double to right field. Xander Bogaerts followed by lashing a line drive to center field that scored Merrill. The play escalated when Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong committed a throwing error, allowing Bogaerts to advance to third base. However, Boyd limited the damage, stranding Bogaerts by retiring Ryan O’Hearn, Gavin Sheets and Jake Cronenworth in order.

That lone run was all the support Padres starter Nick Pivetta would receive. Pivetta was electric through the first four innings, racking up strikeouts and keeping the Cubs’ lineup off balance. He had allowed just one hit, a first-inning single by Nico Hoerner, while striking out seven.

The momentum shifted violently in the bottom of the fifth. On a 1-1 pitch from Pivetta, Suzuki connected, driving a line-drive home run deep to center field to tie the game. The very next batter, Carson Kelly, then launched a fly ball to left-center field that also cleared the fence, giving the Cubs a 2-1 lead in a stunning two-pitch sequence.

Pivetta recovered to strike out the next three batters, but the damage was done. The right-hander’s final line was a hard-luck loss: 5.0 innings pitched, three hits, two earned runs, and nine strikeouts.

“That was the ballgame right there,” one could surmise, as the Padres’ offense went silent thereafter. After Bogaerts’ RBI double in the second, San Diego managed just two more hits and did not advance a runner past first base for the remainder of the contest.

The Cubs’ bullpen was immaculate. Daniel Palencia, who earned the win to improve to 2-6, relieved Boyd in the fifth and recorded 1.2 perfect innings with two strikeouts. Andrew Kittredge and Drew Pomeranz each contributed a scoreless frame, and Brad Keller pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out one, to secure his fourth save of the season.

Boyd, who did not factor in the decision, was effective for Chicago, allowing one run on four hits over 4.1 innings of work.

Chicago added a critical insurance run in the eighth inning against San Diego reliever Adrian Morejon. Dansby Swanson led off with a single and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Matt Shaw. After an intentional walk to Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner delivered a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Swanson to extend the Cubs’ lead to 3-1.

San Diego’s bullpen was also sharp, with Mason Miller striking out the side in the seventh and Wandy Peralta recording a strikeout to end the sixth, but the Padres’ bats could not mount a response.

The victory gives the Cubs, who finished the regular season 93-70, an early advantage in the best-of-five series. The Padres, now 90-73, will look to even the series in Game 2 on Wednesday.

The game was a continuation of recent trends for both clubs. The Padres had won eight of their last ten regular-season games, including a three-game sweep of Arizona to close the season, but saw that momentum halted by Chicago’s pitching. The Cubs, meanwhile, have now won five of their last six games, carrying a strong finish from the regular season into the postseason.

In their six regular-season meetings, the home team won five times, a pattern that held firm in Game 1. The Cubs improved to 4-3 against the Padres in 2025 with the victory.