Padres face a winter of major decisions after a wild-card exit to Chicago left a sour taste and a looming need to retool a fragile rotation. Dylan Cease and Michael King near free agency, while Luis Arraez and Ryan O’Hearn could depart, leaving the offense unsettled. Closer Robert Suarez has a 2026 option and is weighing his future. San Diego must balance payroll with upside as it plans a path back to contention in 2026.

The club will weigh internal depth, external upgrades, and how to replace production at several spots, aiming to preserve run prevention and scoring punch while navigating the market this offseason.

Game 2 hinged on Craig Counsell’s decision to leave Shota Imanaga in to face Manny Machado in the fifth, a move that produced a two-run homer and a 3-0 Padres edge. San Diego closed it out to take a 2-0 series lead and push a winner-take-all Game 3 to Wrigley. Yu Darvish starts for the Padres against Jameson Taillon for the Cubs. Counsell defended his call as confidence in Imanaga; Machado and Shildt downplayed strategic debates. Fantasy implications center on Machado’s big-game swing and how Chicago lines up for Game 3.

Game 3 at Wrigley will decide the series, with Darvish set to duel Taillon. The Cubs will lean on bullpen and rotation planning, including Mike Soroka in readiness, while San Diego looks to keep the momentum with its right-handed power. For fantasy and betting, Machado’s late-inning power in a must-win outing, Darvish’s postseason pedigree, and Taillon’s performance under pressure loom large as the lineup and pitching plans tighten.

San Diego pitchers locked in at Wrigley, silencing Chicago to even the NL Wild Card Series at 1-1. Cease worked 3 2/3 innings, Morejon bridged, and Miller slammed the door in the late frames. Manny Machado’s two-run homer and Fernando Tatis Jr.’s first-inning run via a double steal jump-started the offense, while Luis Arraez supplied speed on the bases.

Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth finished the game with a decisive double play to seal it, setting up a do-or-die Game 3 at Wrigley. For fantasy, Machado’s power, Arraez’s baserunning, and the Padres' bullpen depth are the clear talking points as managers map lineup and streaming options.

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.

Cubs bullpen dominance anchors a 3-1 Game 1 triumph in the NL wild-card, with Brad Keller’s late save and Daniel Palencia’s five-out surge reshaping the game’s momentum. Palencia silenced the Padres’ top order, while Keller closed out Bogaerts to seal the win. Chicago’s relief corps delivered 4 2/3 perfect innings, setting the tone for a momentum swing into Game 2.

Counsell praised the relievers’ resilience and the unit’s cohesion, highlighting matched-up outs and confidence in the late innings. The result gives the Cubs a crucial edge as they head to San Diego for the next chapter of the series, with the bullpen as the story of the night.