Hoerner heroics and bullpen brilliance lift Cubs over Padres in extra-inning thriller

San Diego, California – Nico Hoerner delivered in the clutch Tuesday night, ripping a go-ahead triple in the 10th inning to lift the Chicago Cubs to a gritty 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres, snapping the Padres’ 11-game home winning streak and injecting life into a Cubs team that’s battled inconsistency from its bullpen all month.

Hoerner’s line drive to right-center off Padres reliever Yuki Matsui (0-1) chased home automatic runner Dansby Swanson and brought a thunderous reaction from the Cubs’ dugout. Hoerner slid into third headfirst, pounded his chest, and roared in celebration — the exclamation point on what he would later call a “team win, all the way through.”

“This was one we earned together,” Hoerner said. “The bullpen was the story tonight. To hold a lineup like that to just one run — especially after the way yesterday went — that’s huge.”

Indeed, the Cubs’ bullpen, battered just 24 hours earlier for eight runs in a 10-4 loss, responded with five shutdown innings on Tuesday. Ryan Pressly (1-1) earned the win, while Caleb Thielbar notched his first save by getting three-time batting champ Luis Arraez to fly out with the tying run on third to end the game.

Cubs starter Shota Imanaga turned in another strong outing, allowing just one run on four hits in five innings. His lone blemish came in the fifth, when Padres star Manny Machado capitalized on two dropped foul balls by Cubs fielders and crushed a 92-mph fastball over the left-center wall. It was Machado’s second home run of the season and his fifth career long ball coming on the ninth pitch or later of an at-bat.

Despite the lapse, Imanaga struck out seven and walked three before handing the game to a Cubs bullpen in flux. With Eli Morgan hitting the injured list Tuesday due to a right elbow impingement, and Nate Pearson optioned to Triple-A Iowa after struggling to a 9.64 ERA, the Cubs called up right-handers Daniel Palencia and Luke Little — both of whom were instrumental in the win.

Chicago’s relief corps combined to allow just one hit over five innings, recording four strikeouts and generating six ground-ball outs. It was a sharp contrast to the bullpen’s performance in recent weeks, where Morgan and Pearson alone had given up 20 earned runs in just 16 innings.

“They were phenomenal,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “To hold that lineup down, in this park, with the crowd behind them — it says a lot.”

The Cubs tied the game in the sixth with a small-ball rally: two singles, two sacrifice bunts, and an RBI from Pete Crow-Armstrong. Padres starter Randy Vásquez matched Imanaga’s five-inning outing, allowing one run on seven hits.

One of the key strategic moments came in the 10th, when the Cubs intentionally walked Fernando Tatis Jr. — who had homered twice the night before — to face Arraez. The move paid off when Thielbar induced a game-ending flyout.

The series wraps up Wednesday with left-hander Matthew Boyd (1-1, 1.59 ERA) set to face Padres righty Nick Pivetta (2-1, 1.59 ERA).

For now, the Cubs will savor this one — a resilient win powered by timely hitting and the kind of bullpen performance they’ve desperately needed.