Nick Pivetta's Great Escape Paves Way For Padres' Wild-Card Sweep

The turning point in a postseason game can be more of a subtle situation that gets more of a footnote than a headline.

But Nick Pivetta knew. You could tell by how the San Diego Padres’ right-handed starter let out a scream following the final out of the third inning in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series. Pivetta put himself into trouble, then escaped like the crafty veteran that he is.

The smoldering fire was extinguished before more fuel could be added, possibly getting out of control. Pivetta and the Padres were able to get out of the top of the third in the same situation they were in at the beginning of the frame: holding a 2-0 lead.

That 2-0 lead would eventually become a 4-1 victory that allowed the Padres to sweep the Cubs in the best-of-three series at a raucous Petco Park. Now, the Friars will face another NL Central team, the Milwaukee Brewers, in the NL Division Series that begins Saturday on the road. The Brewers posted MLB’s best record for the second year in a row.

Pivetta and the Padres had a huge safety net in this game. There would be a tomorrow if they lost, whereas the Cubs were looking to avoid elimination. But as has been the case in the second half of this season for the Padres, they would not need that cushion.

Coming off scoring twice in the bottom of the second, Pivetta was facing the bottom three hitters in a top-heavy Cubs lineup that produced the most runs in MLB this season.

Matt Shaw drew a six-pitch walk, with ball four confirmed after a poor challenge by Padres rookie catcher Ethan Salas, making his postseason debut at 20 years, 121 days, the youngest catcher in MLB playoff history. Carson Kelly was next. After fouling off a four-seamer, Kelly yanked a 1-1 sweeper to left field that Dustin Harris cut off before it got to the wall, keeping Shaw at second.

This is when Pivetta had to dig as deep as he has since returning from a right elbow injury after four starts in April to make another four starts in September. Dansby Swanson, typically a dangerous hitter having a bad offensive season, now had a chance to reverse that narrative. Pivetta tried to get the Cubs’ shortstop to chase, with his first three pitches—two four-seamers sandwiched around a cutter—low and outside.

Swanson didn’t take the bait and was up in the count 3-0. At that point, Padres manager Craig Stammen, in his first season and with no previous managerial experience, picked up the bullpen and uttered one word: “Bradgley.” That was to get rookie right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez up. With the Cubs desperate for their first run of the series, Swanson was taking all the way as Pivetta threw a get-me-over four-seamer, which would be his only pitch in the strike zone in this at-bat. Another four-seamer followed that was low and outside, but much closer to the zone that Swanson was too aggressive with, swinging and missing. Now with the count at 3-2, Pivetta was back in control. He delivered one final four-seamer, this one well below the zone on the outside corner. Swanson flailed at that one for the first out of the inning.

With the water still bubbling but not yet boiling, the Cubs had their best shot of the inning with the top of the order now approaching the plate in NL MVP front-runner Pete Crow-Armstrong. The left-handed hitter fouled a first-pitch curveball off his right foot. Another curve followed that was way inside to even the count. Then Pivetta challenged Crow-Armstrong with a 94.9 mph four-seamer on the inside corner that jammed the star center fielder, who popped it up on the infield, snagged by shortstop Xander Bogaerts just two steps away on the right side of second base.

Two outs. One to go. Alex Bregman stepped up. The most postseason-savvy of any player on either roster, Bregman has faced crucial situations like this one before, coming through often. After taking a 94.3 mph four-seamer for a strike on the outside corner, Bregman got a 92.4 mph four-seamer up and in that he went after, but could only manage a soft fly to center that Jackson Merrill trotted in and secured for the final out.

Rodriguez wasn’t needed and sat back down. Those first two runners to reach to begin the inning were still where they were. It was the most taking inning of Pivetta’s return and, other than his comeback game, his most rewarding. Nineteen pitches, but it was still a 2-0 Padres lead.

As he walked off the mound, with the Friar Faithful at full throat, Pivetta yelled, “Let’s go, guys! Let’s (effing) go!”

Pivetta was never going to go seven innings in this one like right-hander Michael King did in a dominant Game 1 performance. The Pivetta plan was going to max out at five innings, with a fresh bullpen ready to take over.

But Pivetta would only get one more out. In the fourth, he gave up a one-out single to Seiya Suzuki, then walked Ian Happ. Nico Hoerner, who had two of the Cubs’ three hits in Game 1, then singled to center to bring in the Cubs’ first run. Now Rodriguez was summoned, ending Pivetta’s night.

That stat line was suitable for a postseason start: 3⅓ innings, three hits, one run, three walks, four strikeouts. Yes, the Padres will need more from Pivetta in whatever number of postseason appearances he makes. But in this scenario, with a very rested bullpen, it was just fine.

It was Pivetta’s great escape in the third inning that kept the game from turning a different way.

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