Nick Pivetta was cruising, and the Chicago Cubs were getting closer to the precipice.

It may have only been the fifth inning, but time was running out for the Cubs’ bats to wake up in Tuesday’s Game 1 of the National League Wild Card series. Pivetta, the San Diego Padres’ ace, had retired 11 straight batters and allowed just one hit through four, striking out six.

The wind at Wrigley Field was blowing in slightly, and the shadows were creeping up beyond home plate, making conditions very difficult for hitters.

And on top of all that, the Padres’ league-best bullpen was looming. Chicago needed to score quickly to avoid facing San Diego’s high-leverage relievers while trailing.

Then one swing from Seiya Suzuki changed everything.

Suzuki took the first two pitches above the strike zone, then fouled off a high sinker. On a 2-1 count, Pivetta’s fastball caught too much of the plate on the inner half, and Suzuki jumped on it, launching a 424-foot home run right through the wind and into the left-center field bleachers to tie the game.

After struggling for most of the second half, Suzuki caught fire in the final week of the regular season, hitting five home runs in his last four games entering Tuesday. He became the first player in Major League history to homer in each of his last four regular-season games and then go deep in his first postseason game as well.

Following that jolt to the Wrigley Field crowd, catcher Carson Kelly battled to a 2-2 count with Pivetta, then turned around a high fastball and hit a towering drive to left-center that dropped just over the ivy-covered fence, giving the Cubs back-to-back home runs and the lead.

“To see that energy, you feel that as a player,” Kelly said. “It was a good day to wear a Cubs uniform.”

An emotional Matthew Boyd made the Game 1 start for the Cubs in place of the injured rookie Cade Horton, and he kept Chicago in the game with 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball. It looked as though things might unravel on him in the second, when Jackson Merrill led off with a bloop double and Xander Bogaerts followed with a double of his own to give the Padres the early lead.

Bogaerts took third on the play when Nico Hoerner mishandled Pete Crow-Armstrong’s throw back to the infield, giving San Diego a golden opportunity to add on. But shortstop Dansby Swanson made a diving stop on Ryan O’Hearn’s sharp ground ball to keep Bogaerts at third, and then Boyd retired Gavin Sheets on a pop-up to Matt Shaw at third. Jake Cronenworth bounced out to Swanson to end the inning, keeping the Cubs’ deficit at a single run.

Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Two innings later, the Padres threatened again when Boyd walked Manny Machado to lead off the fourth. Merrill’s sacrifice bunt moved him to second, and Bogaerts beat out an infield single to put runners at the corners.

But once again, Boyd escaped, with help from his defense. Swanson made an excellent over-the-shoulder catch on O’Hearn’s pop fly, and Gavin Sheets hit a fly ball to Crow-Armstrong in center field for the third out.

“We have so many good defenders on this team. Guys have made plays all year,” Swanson said. “It’s really important. They had some chances to score, and being able to limit them to that one run, it was an unbelievable job by Boyd.”

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Hoerner brings in big insurance run

The Cubs wasted a chance to add to their lead in the sixth, failing to score after Michael Busch and Hoerner singled to start the inning, but they gave themselves some breathing room in the eighth thanks to their best situational hitter.

Swanson led off with a single against former Cub Jeremiah Estrada, and after Shaw bunted him to second, the Padres chose to intentionally walk Busch to bring Hoerner to the plate. It was a curious decision given Hoerner’s excellent numbers with runners in scoring position, and Hoerner’s job was made easier when Estrada threw an 0-2 splitter in the dirt, allowing the runners to move to second and third.

On the next pitch, a slider on the outside edge, Hoerner flicked his bat out and hit a fly ball to center field. It was easily deep enough for Swanson to tag up and score, doubling Chicago’s lead. Brad Keller then closed the door with a three up, three down ninth.

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