CHICAGO (Interstat) — In a taut, tense affair that defied pregame expectations, the Chicago Cubs defeated the San Diego Padres 3-1 on Thursday evening at a sold-out Wrigley Field to clinch their National League playoff series two games to one.

A crowd of 40,895 watched as the Cubs, leaning on a stellar start from Jameson Taillon and a timely second-inning rally, advanced to the next round of the postseason. The game, which lasted 3 hours, was a stark contrast to the offensive explosion projected by statistical models, instead becoming a pitchers’ duel defined by clutch performances and missed opportunities.

The Cubs seized control early against San Diego ace Yu Darvish, who was saddled with the loss. In the bottom of the second inning, Kyle Tucker sparked the rally with a single. Seiya Suzuki followed by lacing a ground-rule double down the left-field line, putting two runners in scoring position. After Carson Kelly was hit by a pitch to load the bases, rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong delivered the game’s first run with a sharp single to center field, scoring Tucker.

Darvish’s command continued to waver, and he walked Dansby Swanson on a full count to force in Suzuki, giving the Cubs a 2-0 lead. The inning could have spiraled further, but Darvish induced a crucial inning-ending double play from Michael Busch to escape the jam.

From there, the game settled into a grind. Cubs starter Jameson Taillon was brilliant, silencing the Padres’ bats over four scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and struck out four, setting the tone for the Chicago bullpen. The Padres threatened in the fifth, putting runners on second and third with two outs, but Fernando Tatis Jr. flew out to right field to end the inning, stranding the potential tying runs.

The Cubs added a critical insurance run in the seventh inning. Facing reliever Michael King, Michael Busch provided the exclamation point, launching a solo home run to right-center field to extend the Chicago lead to 3-0. The homer was Busch’s third hit of the night, a key performance in a game where offense was at a premium.

San Diego’s bullpen, led by Jeremiah Estrada, Michael King and David Morgan, kept the Padres within striking distance by combining for four innings of scoreless, one-hit relief, striking out seven Cubs batters.

The Padres finally broke through in the ninth against Cubs closer Andrew Kittredge. Jackson Merrill led off the inning with a solo home run to right-center, cutting the deficit to 3-1 and injecting late drama into the contest. Kittredge then hit Ryan O’Hearn and Bryce Johnson with pitches, bringing the potential winning run to the plate with two outs.

With the bases loaded, Freddy Fermin stepped in. On a 2-2 pitch, Fermin drove a ball deep to center field, but Crow-Armstrong tracked it down on the warning track for the final out, securing the series for the Cubs and the save for Kittredge, his sixth of the season.

Daniel Palencia earned the win for Chicago with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. The Cubs’ offense, while held to just three runs, pounded out 13 hits, consistently pressuring the San Diego staff.

The victory propels the Cubs, who improved to 94-71, into the next round of the playoffs. The Padres’ season ends with a record of 91-74. The game’s final score of 4 total runs fell well under the pregame over/under line of 7.5, capping a series defined by pitching and defense rather than the high-scoring affair many had anticipated.