The Chicago Cubs celebrate after Game 3 of a National League wild card baseball game against the San Diego Padres Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

CHICAGO — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit an RBI single off a shaky Yu Darvish, and the Chicago Cubs shut down Fernando Tatis Jr. and the San Diego Padres for a clinching 3-1 victory in Game 3 of their NL Wild Card Series on Thursday.

Backed by a raucous crowd of 40,895 at Wrigley Field, Chicago used its stellar defense to advance in the postseason for the first time since 2017. Michael Busch hit a solo homer, and Jameson Taillon pitched four shutout innings before manager Craig Counsell used five relievers to close it out.

After Brad Keller faltered in the ninth — allowing Jackson Merrill’s leadoff homer and hitting two batters with pitches — Andrew Kittredge earned the save by retiring Jake Cronenworth on a bouncer to third and Freddy Fermin on a flyball to center field.

Next up for Chicago is a matchup with the NL Central champion Brewers in a compelling Division Series, beginning with Game 1 on Saturday in Milwaukee.

Counsell managed the Brewers for nine years before he was hired by the Cubs in November 2023, and he has been lustily booed in Milwaukee ever since he departed.

It was a disappointing finish for San Diego after it made the postseason for the fourth time in six years. The Padres forced a decisive Game 3 with a 3-0 victory on Wednesday, but their biggest stars flopped in the series finale.

Tatis went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts, including a flyball to right that stranded runners on second and third in the fifth. Machado, who hit a two-run homer in Game 2, bounced to shortstop Dansby Swanson for the final out of the eighth, leaving a runner at third.

Darvish also struggled against his former team. The Japanese right-hander was pulled after the first four Cubs batters reached in the second inning, capped by the first of Crow-Armstrong’s three hits.

Jeremiah Estrada came in and issued a bases-loaded walk to Swanson, handing the Cubs a 2-0 lead. Estrada limited the damage by striking out Matt Shaw before Busch bounced into an inning-ending double play.

Taillon allowed two hits and struck out four. Caleb Thielbar got two outs before Daniel Palencia wiggled out of a fifth-inning jam while earning his second win of the series. Drew Pomeranz handled the seventh before Keller worked the eighth.

The Cubs supported their bullpen with another solid day in the field. Swanson made a slick play on Luis Arraez’s leadoff grounder in the sixth, and then turned an inning-ending double play following a walk to Machado.

Crow-Armstrong, who went 0 for 6 with five strikeouts in the first two games of the series, robbed Machado of a hit with a sliding catch in center in the first.

Schlittler lifts Yanks

NEW YORK — Rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler struck out 12 as he shut down Boston with 100 mph heat, and the New York Yankees took advantage of a pair misplays in a four-run fourth inning to beat the Red Sox 4-0 for a 2-1 AL Wild Card Series win and a Division Series matchup against Toronto.

New York became the first team to lose the opener and advance from the expanded first round, which began in 2022. The Yankees start the best-of-five Division Series on Saturday at the AL East champion Blue Jays.

Tigers advance

CLEVELAND — The Detroit Tigers have defeated the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 in the deciding Game 3 of their AL Wild Card Series, advancing to a Division Series against the Seattle Mariners.

Dillon Dingler hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning and Wenceel Perez drove in two runs during a four-run seventh. This marks the second consecutive season the Tigers have won a Wild Card Series on the road.

“I don’t think it needs to be any sweeter than what it feels like right now because you have to earn these wins,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “You have to earn the opportunity to play in October. You’ve got to earn a full-series win over a good team, a hot team, a team that we know well.”

Detroit heads to Seattle for the first two games of their best-of-five Division Series, with Game 1 on Saturday. The Guardians, who made a historic comeback to overtake the Tigers and win the AL Central, fell short in their best-of-three playoff. Kyle Finnegan got the win in relief for Detroit.

“It stinks for it to end that way. I couldn’t be more proud of them, of what we accomplished,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “It’s not enough. We want more. And I think that’s really the message, is let this sting. We’re close. We are really close. We’re not quite there yet.”

Ohtani to start

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani will make his postseason pitching debut when he starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

The Dodgers open the best-of-five series on Saturday in Philadelphia.

“Very talented ballclub. It’s going to be a fun environment,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think we match up really well with those guys. They’re going to run a bunch of left-handers at us. Talented, all throughout the lineup.”

Roberts confirmed Ohtani as the starter after the Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-4 to complete a sweep in the NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday night. The Dodgers had planned to start Ohtani if the Wild Card had gone to a deciding third game.

Ohtani (1-1, 2.87 ERA) didn’t pitch for the Dodgers last season while recovering from a second elbow surgery that he had in September 2023. He became the first player in major league history with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases as the Dodgers won the World Series over the New York Yankees.

The two-way superstar never made the playoffs during six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

At the plate, Ohtani revived himself in September, hitting .312 with 10 home runs and a 1.165 OPS. He finished the regular season with a career-high 55 homers, one more than last season.

Against the Reds in Game 1, he hit two homers. He was 1 for 4 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI in the closeout win Wednesday.