Seiya Suzuki watched the playoffs on TV after each of his first three years in the majors. He gets to play this time around, and he is determined to make the most of the opportunity.

Here’s hoping he channels what he did against the Padres April 5 at Wrigley Field — six shutout innings, allowing five hits and striking out five. He also had a nice game against them April 16 in San Diego — two runs in 5.

CHICAGO — The sudden pop of back-to-back home runs by Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly lifted the Chicago Cubs to a 3-1 victory on Tuesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, pushing the San Diego Padres to the brink of playoff elimination.

The first tell that the Cubs' bullpen is now a weapon rather than a shortcoming came in the top of the fifth. Chicago starter Matthew Boyd had just faced his 18th batter of the game and yielded a single,

The Chicago Cubs will meet the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 3:08 p.m. ET, live on ABC from Wrigley Field. Tickets for Game 2 of the Cubs vs. Padres playoff series are still available on StubHub.

Plenty of bar stools and high-top tables were packed at 710 Beach Club in Pacific Beach as Chicago Cubs fans - and quite frankly plenty of Padres fans - to cheer on their team.

The Chicago Cubs opted to carry 12 pitchers and 14 position players for the 26-man roster for their wild-card series against the San Diego Padres.