The Wrigley Field ivy peaked in the 2003 National League Championship Series, but the change of colors looks to be coming a little later this fall after the long, dry summer.<\/p>\n
In a perfect world, the Chicago Cubs would be peaking at the same time.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThat would be the dream,\u201d head groundskeeper Dan Kiermaier said before the start of the wild-card series between the Cubs and San Diego Padres. \u201cWe haven\u2019t had it that color in a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll see what Mother Nature throws at us this year. We\u2019re hoping we have some good fall color and showing it off with playoff baseball. But the weather will drive that, so we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cubs tried to do their part by staying alive in the postseason long enough for Wrigley to show off its fall finest, and got through the first obstacle with flying colors.<\/p>\n
A 3-1 win over the Padres<\/a> on Thursday in the decisive Game 3 of the wild-card series advanced them to the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Chicago Cubs beat San Diego Padres 3-1 for 1st postseason series win since 2017. Next up: Milwaukee Brewers.<\/a><\/p>\n Take a deep breath, Chicago. You deserve it after this series, where the Cubs made you sweat, scream and swear \u2014 sometimes in the same moment.<\/p>\n Pete Crow-Armstrong bounced off the mat with an RBI and a three-hit game, Michael Busch homered, and the Cubs pitchers came through on a perfectly imperfect day that featured one last scare.<\/p>\n Brad Keller served up a sky-high leadoff home run in the ninth to Jackson Merrill, then hit Ryan O\u2019Hearn and Bryce Johnson with one out to ignite flashbacks of 1984<\/a>. Manager Craig Counsell brought in Andrew Kittredge, the opener of Game 2, who got Jake Cronenworth to ground out on a nice play by Matt Shaw.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Manager Craig Counsell said he knew it would be a tough job for Keller to go two innings, and had Game 1 starter Matthew Boyd and Kittredge up.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it went the way we wanted it to go,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought Kit would have to get some outs there, and he did a hell of a job.\u201d<\/p>\n The anxiety level shot up, just like it has in many playoffs of the past.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Merrill homered, I was fine,\u201d President Jed Hoyer said. \u201cA couple hit by pitches made me anxious. And then I knew (Freddy) Fermin was a really good contact hitter, so I knew the ball was going to be in play, and I said, \u2018Hit it at somebody, please.’\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Fermin obliged and flew out to center with the tying runs in scoring position, and the party started again.<\/p>\n Chairman Tom Ricketts insisted he didn\u2019t sweat, which could not be confirmed as he was drenched in champagne when I spoke to him.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, we have a good team, we\u2019re solid,\u201d he said. \u201cWe put ourselves in a little more stressful situation than we wanted, but I knew we had Kittredge in the bullpen, so I was really confident we\u2019d get out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n A trip to the right-field bleachers was in order before Thursday\u2019s make-or-break wild-card game to gauge the temperature of Cubs fans.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n An old friend from a group I sat in the bleachers with in the early 1980s was visibly anxious an hour before Jameson Taillon\u2019s first pitch<\/a>. I tried to calm her fears by relaying some team-friendly stats \u2014 like the Cubs\u2019 23-6 record at Wrigley following a loss \u2014 and a little bit of history about the wild-card round, where 18 of the 20 teams that won the first game of the best-of-three series went on to advance.<\/p>\n The pep talk didn\u2019t work. Like many others in attendance, the exhilaration from the Game 1 win<\/a> over the San Diego Padres had morphed into panic after the Game 2 loss<\/a>, and nerves were frayed as game time neared. She said this Cubs season has been particularly stressful from day one because you never knew which offense would show up.<\/p>\n It could be the lineup that was capable of hitting eight home runs, as they did against the St. Louis Cardinals on the Fourth of July, or the one that could strike out 14 times, as they did twice, including a recent game against the New York Mets on Sept. 25. The Cubs offense dominated in the first half, then hibernated much of the second half.<\/p>\n Which one would we see in Game 3 on a gorgeous, 79-degree fall afternoon in Chicago?<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n A little of both, as it turned out.<\/p>\n \u201cWe played three fun baseball games, man, emotional games,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cI love these October celebrations where you get to act like a 10-year-old. The feeling was electric today. It started in the first inning. We didn\u2019t give them much to cheer about yesterday. But we gave them a lot more to cheer about today.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cubs knocked out Padres starter Yu Darvish<\/a> in the second inning, but couldn\u2019t manage to pull away in a tense affair that naturally turned into a battle of the bullpens as day turned into night.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery single guy out there picked each other up,\u201d pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019ve built upon all year. Brad carried us, had a great eighth inning, and then \u2018Kit\u2019 comes in and shuts it down. That\u2019s what it\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Hours before the game, Crow-Armstrong, who was hitless in the first two games, lauded the energy Cubs fans brought to Wrigley.<\/p>\n \u201cWe owe more playoff baseball to this fan base for sure, and hopefully we just use that energy today to our advantage,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said.<\/p>\n That energy was apparent at the outset of Game 3 when Crow-Armstrong made a sliding catch of a Manny Machado liner in the bottom of the first inning, rising to the now-traditional chants of \u201cPCA.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe great weather, all three games were really close, it was a fun series as a spectator,\u201d Hoyer said. \u201cAnd our fans were amazing. We talked after we clinched that we had to have home-field advantage, and I really think that helped us win this series.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Crow-Armstrong put his money where his mouth is with a three-hit game, getting his groove back at a most appropriate time. A single by Kyle Tucker and a double by Seiya Suzuki started things off in the second inning, and Darvish hit Carson Kelly with a pitch to load the bases, bringing up Crow-Armstrong with a chance to be the hero again.<\/p>\n Crow-Armstrong delivered with a run-scoring single up the middle, prompting Padres manager Mike Shildt to make a lightning-quick hook of his starter. But Jeremiah Estrada walked Dansby Swanson to force in another run, and the Cubs had a 2-0 lead.<\/p>\n They couldn\u2019t add on that inning and failed to score in the next five innings, keeping the Padres within shouting distance. But the pitching and defense carried them through, as daylight turned to dusk and groans turned to grins.<\/p>\n Taillon threw four scoreless innings before Counsell removed him. There was no chance the Cubs manager would risk making the same mistake he made in Game 2<\/a>, when he let Shota Imanaga pitch to Machado instead of going by the book, and paid the price when Machado homered.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Caleb Thielbar, Daniel Palencia and Drew Pomeranz kept the Padres scoreless into the seventh, aided by some stellar defensive plays by Swanson and Nico Hoerner. It was Hoerner\u2019s leaping grab of Gavin Sheets\u2019 line drive in the seventh, with a runner on second and one out, that turned the sound level up to 11, with the ball peeking out of the top of his glove like a dove popping out of a magician\u2019s hat.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m more and more impressed by Nico every day,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said. \u201cThe way he affects every one of us in here is so cool. I get the best view in the world of what they do so well.\u201d<\/p>\n Pomeranz induced Cronenworth to fly out to center, stranding the runner.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a big reason why we\u2019re a good baseball team, because of that defense up the middle, Dansby, Nico and Pete,\u201d Counsell said.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n When Busch led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run against Robert Suarez into the right-field bleachers, the ballpark heaved a sigh of relief. It wasn\u2019t exactly a \u201chomer in the gloamin,\u201d like the famous Gabby Hartnett shot<\/a> at Wrigley in 1938, but it would suffice.<\/p>\n Crow-Armstrong was being polite when he said the Cubs owed the fans more playoff games. In truth, the Cubs players really don\u2019t owe fans anything but an honest effort. With some of the highest ticket prices in baseball, Cubs ownership owed fans a playoff-caliber team, and whether you like the Rickettses or not, they did deliver on that.<\/p>\n For years, Cubs fans said they\u2019d be happy with one championship before they died. They lied.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone wants to win just one,\u201d Ricketts said. \u201cThey always want to win every year and every game. We have great coaching, great hitting, great pitching. Anything can happen from here on out.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Putting your heart into a sports team is optional, and just because the Cubs are considered a huggable franchise with their history and the special atmosphere surrounding their ancient, bandbox ballpark, it doesn\u2019t mean the players have to win for you.<\/p>\n