SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Cubs’ West Coast gauntlet against two of the best teams in baseball rolls on this week, with two games left.
After winning two out of three at Dodger Stadium in a weekend series against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs headed down the coast to begin a three-game set in San Diego on Monday night against the Padres, who own MLB’s best record in the season’s early-going.
And through five innings Monday, the Cubs were in great shape, holding a 3-1 lead. But the Padres flexed their muscles against Chicago’s bullpen, rallying for a 10-4 win in the first game of the meeting between National League division leaders.
San Diego star Fernando Tatis Jr. homered twice and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, as the NL West-leading Padres scored nine runs over the sixth through eighth innings to improve to 11-0 at home and 14-3 overall, the best record in the majors.
The NL Central-leading Cubs, meanwhile, dropped to 11-8, but they have a chance to repeat in San Diego what they did over the weekend in Los Angeles.
Just like the Padres, the Dodgers entered their series with the Cubs undefeated at home. And after Los Angeles won the first game Friday night to remain unbeaten at home, the Cubs rallied back to win the next two.
They’ll try to do the same in San Diego, starting Tuesday night when left-hander Shota Imanaga (2-1, 2.70 ERA) takes the mound for the Cubs against Padres right-hander Randy Vásquez (1-1, 1.72). First pitch is scheduled for 8:40 p.m.
That’s a pitching rematch of the Cubs’ home opener on April 4, when Imanaga outdueled Vásquez, working 7 1/3 innings in a 3-1 win.
The Cubs and Padres conclude their season series Wednesday afternoon at 3:10 p.m., then the Cubs return home to host the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game weekend series after an off-day Thursday.
Tatis hurts Cubs
In Monday’s game, Tatis hit a solo homer with two outs in the third inning, scored the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch in a three-run seventh and then hit a two-run shot in the eighth. He has six home runs overall — tying seven other players for the big league lead — and five in his last six games. It was his 12th career multi-homer game.
Luis Arraez also homered in the eighth, his second, to give the Padres their first back-to-back homers this season.
The Cubs took a 3-1 lead in the fourth. Michael Busch hit a two-run homer off Dylan Cease, his fourth, after Justin Turner reached on a fielding error by third baseman Manny Machado. Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong then hit consecutive doubles with one out.
Busch’s homer ended a 37-inning scoreless streak by San Diego’s pitching staff, dating to the third inning Wednesday at the Athletics. The Padres shut out the Colorado Rockies in a three-game weekend series.
The Padres tied it in the sixth and then went ahead in the seventh. Tatis drew a leadoff walk, advanced on Arraez’s double and, after Machado was intentionally walked, raced home on a wild pitch by Nate Pearson (0-1) for a 4-3 lead. Gavin Sheets then hit a two-run single.
Adrian Morejon (1-0) got the win.
Key moment
The Padres caught a break in their two-run sixth when Sheets’ pop fly fell between left fielder Ian Happ and shortstop Dansby Swanson with one out.
Key stat
Tatis broke a tie with Adrian Gonzalez and is now second all-time at Petco Park with 67 homers. Machado has 91.