Xander Bogaerts’ late-innings strikeout on a pitch he believed was outside the zone underscored why MLB is moving to an automated ball-strike system next season. The Padres fell 3-1 to the Cubs in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card, and the sequence amplified the stakes of a rule change aimed at reducing costly miscalls in decisive moments.

Jackson Merrill sparked San Diego’s late rally with a homer off Brad Keller, but a bases-loaded opportunity never crystallized as Chicago closed out the win. San Diego finished with 90 wins but couldn’t advance, leaving the ABS debate to the forefront as Milwaukee awaits in the next round and fantasy managers weigh how the new system could reshape late-inning outcomes.

Manny Machado’s clutch two-run homer off Shota Imanaga in a tense Cubs-Padres wild-card game swung momentum to San Diego as Cubs manager Craig Counsell rolled the dice with an opener and a long-relief plan that backfired. San Diego solved the early moves, then capitalized on Imanaga’s fifth-inning miscue to pull ahead 3-0. With a short, silent Cubs’ lineup and a poised Padres bullpen, Chicago faces elimination in Game 3, where every managerial call and matchup will shape fantasy worth and betting angles.