Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/29/26): Cubs 5, Padres 4 – Brown Escapes Bases-Loaded Jam in Win
The Cubs finished their West Coast road trip on a high note with a one-run victory over the Padres at Petco Park on Wednesday afternoon. The bullpen got into a major pickle in the late innings, but they managed to escape it to take the series.
Catcher Miguel Amaya put Chicago in front with an RBI single against knuckleballer Matt Waldron in the top of the 2nd. Pete Crow-Armstrong provided insurance with a two-run homer to make it a 3-0 game in the 4th.
Starter Jameson Taillon was very sharp to begin the afternoon for the North Siders, retiring the first 14 hitters he saw before giving up a solo homer to Miguel Andujar with two outs in the 5th inning. That was followed by a walk, then a game-tying blast by Nick Castellanos.
The Cubs scratched out the go-ahead tally on an RBI groundout by Crow-Armstrong off of reliever Adrian Morejon in the top of the 6th. Matt Shaw hit what would eventually be a very important solo homer against Jason Adam to expand the advantage to 5-3 in the 8th.
Corbin Martin took over for Taillon in the bottom of the frame and proceeded to walk the bases loaded with nobody out. He was quickly yanked in favor of Ben Brown, who gave up a sacrifice fly to Fernando Tatis Jr. before coaxing a double play grounder from Manny Machado to escape with a 5-4 edge.
Brown and Hoby Milner covered the final inning to close the door on a 5-4 Chicago win. (Box score)
Key Moment
The Cubs appeared to be in deep trouble with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the 8th. Brown likely would have unraveled in such a high-pressure spot in 2025, but he trusted his stuff and got a fly ball and then a weak grounder to second base for a tailor-made double play to save the game.
Why the Cubs Won
A quality start and a couple of home runs did just enough for the shaky bullpen to hang on for the win.
Stats That Matter
- Taillon was very good other than giving up his standard homers: 7 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 6 K, and 1 BB.
- Shaw had a double and a single in addition to his home run.
- PCA has gone deep in consecutive games.
Bottom Line
The Cubs will absolutely take a 3-3 road trip against two of the best teams in the National League. They have gone 9-4 so far in four series against 2025 playoff teams, which is unbelievable considering three of them were on the road. They continue to find a way to patch together a bullpen even though it hasn’t always been pretty.
On Deck
They get Thursday off before welcoming the Diamondbacks to Wrigley Field starting Friday at 1:20pm CT. Colin Rea goes up against Zac Gallen in a matchup televised on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.
