The San Diego Padres forced a crucial winner-take-all finale on Wednesday when they defeated the Chicago Cubs 3-0. A major reason for the win was due to a masterclass pitching performance from the entire staff, and a two-run home run by Manny Machado in the 5th inning to put the icing on the cake.

For Game 2, manager Craig Counsell decided to go with an opener, Andrew Kittredge, ahead of Shota Imanaga . Kittredge pitched a clean inning in Game 1, but he allowed the first run of the contest in the 1st inning by a sac-fly from Jackson Merrill. Imanaga replaced him in the second inning. The idea behind the opener was to give Imanaga one less opportunity to face the 1-5 hitters in the San Diego lineup. Imanaga pitched well until the fifth inning, when Machado (batting 3rd) stepped u

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