CHICAGO (670 The Score) — Years before he ever crouched behind home plate at Wrigley Field, catcher Carson Kelly was a kid hoping to snag a batting practice baseball in the ballpark’s famed bleachers.
A native of Chicago, Kelly played the first playoff game of his 10-year MLB career Tuesday as a member of the Cubs.
“It’s kind of cool how it’s come full circle,” Kelly said Tuesday morning.
Indeed, it sure did. In the afternoon, Kelly blasted the go-ahead home run in the fifth inning, staking claim to his place as one of the heroes in the Cubs' 3-1 win over the Padres in Game 1 of the National League wild-card series. Kelly’s solo homer followed slugger Seiya Suzuki's solo homer after the Cubs trailed 1-0 entering the bottom of the frame.
“It changes the energy in the stadium completely,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
In a best-of-three wild-card series, those types of swings can also alter the course of the entire postseason. Since MLB implemented the expanded playoff in 2022 — adding the best-of-three wild-card series — all 12 teams to win Game 1 have advanced to the divisional series. The Cubs hope to continue that trend.
The Cubs won 92 games and landed in the wild-card series after falling short in the NL Central race. They finished five games back of the Brewers, who raced their way to the National League's top seed. The Cubs enjoyed a breakthrough season to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020 – when they were swept by the Marlins in two games in a temporarily expanded postseason format – but haven't established their place as a juggernaut in the NL.
The Cubs made it to this stage despite losing left-hander Justin Steele to season-ending elbow surgery in April and just recently seeing NL Rookie of the Year front-runner Cade Horton sidelined by a ribs fracture.
Cubs left-hander Matt Boyd earned the Game 1 start despite his recent inconsistent performance. Boyd threw 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball, backed by shortstop Dansby Swanson's spectacular defense.
Swanson saved a run by making a diving stop in the second inning with a Padres runner on third base and no outs, and Boyd got out of the jam without further damage after San Diego had taken an early 1-0 lead. With runners at first and third base and one out in the fourth inning, Swanson made a backpedaling catch in shallow center field and fired home to prevent the Padres from attempting to tag up. His defense directly saved two runs and perhaps more.
Counsell turned to hard-throwing reliever Daniel Palencia, who was the team's closer for much of the regular season, in the fifth inning with two runners on and one out. He fired 1 2/3 perfect innings on a day that the Cubs bullpen threw 4 2/3 perfect innings.
Counsell called it “an idea but no firm plans” to pitch Palencia in the fifth inning. It was a gamble that paid off, and Palencia earned the win.
“Credit to Danny for putting that game back together,” Counsell said.
The Cubs turned to Drew Pomeranz, Andrew Kittredge and Brad Keller to close out the final three innings.
There were contributions all around for the Cubs, who offered a glimpse of their blueprint for a potential playoff run. Their plan relies on a deep lineup to get contributions from top to bottom, a strong defense and Counsell leaning on “out-getters” to record 27 outs as everyone accepts their role.
Two hours and 25 minutes after a ceremonial first pitch thrown by 2016 World Series champion Jake Arrieta, Keller threw a final strike to give the Cubs their first playoff victory since Oct. 18, 2017. That was a 3-2 win against the Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, a game in which Arrieta earned the victory.
That series essentially marked the all-too-early end of the Cubs’ championship window. This team has 26 new players on the roster eight years later.
The Cubs will rely on every one of them to make a run.
“You pick a day,” Boyd said. “You get to pick a new hero.
“That’s kind of our brand of baseball.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.