Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly belted back-to-back homers to lead off the fifth inning, lifting the host Chicago Cubs to a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of their National League wild-card series on Tuesday.

Daniel Palencia (1-0) struck out two and retired all five batters he faced in relief of starter Matthew Boyd. Former Padre Drew Pomeranz retired the side in order in the seventh inning, Andrew Kittredge did the same in the eighth and Brad Keller followed suit in the ninth to secure the save.

Chicago, which last reached the postseason in 2020, will look to wrap up the best-of-three series at home on Wednesday afternoon.

Nico Hoerner collected two of his team's six hits and added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning off former Cub Jeremiah Estrada.

Xander Bogaerts rip

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