The Padres struggled to score again in a playoff game. It's a story the team's fans know all too well after the team's failure in the NLDS last season.
On Tuesday, the Padres scored a run in the second inning against the Chicago Cubs, breaking a 25-inning scoreless streak in the postseason. Then they didn't score again in a 3–1 loss. San Diego has now mustered only one run in its past 33 postseason innings.
Last season, the Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6–5 in Game 3 of the NLDS, scoring all six runs in the second inning before being shut out for the rest of the game. L.A. then blanked San Diego in Game 4 and Game 5, totaling 24 consecutive shutout innings to end the Friars' season.
On Tuesday, San Diego scored on a Xander Bogaerts double in the top of the second inning to take a 1–0 lead. Despite several chances to plate another run, the Padres couldn't capitalize as they finished 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Chicago battled back with back-to-back solo home runs from Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly in the fifth inning. The Cubs tacked another run on in the eighth inning to secure a 3–1 lead.
Cubs relievers tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings after starter Matthew Boyd was pulled with one out in the fifth inning. They didn't allow a hit or a walk and struck out four batters after Boyd left the game. Chicago's pitchers retired the final 14 Padres batters in order to end the game.
San Diego managed only four hits and one walk on the day. The top three in the Padres' lineup, Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arraez and Manny Machado, went a combined 0-for-10 with three strikeouts and a walk.
It will be do-or-die for the Padres on Wednesday, but history is working against them. Since MLB moved to its current playoff format in 2022, no team that has lost the opening game of a wild-card series has come back to win it. San Diego's offense will need to wake up if the team wants to have any chance.
The Cubs have home-field advantage and all the momentum.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Padres Playoff Offensive Futility Continues in Game 1 Loss to Cubs.
