Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Cubs reliever Andrew Kittredge sealed the deal on the club’s first playoff-series win since 2017.

It is not every day where a starting pitcher who takes the loss can atone for his mistakes the very next day.

Yet, Andrew Kittredge is, and has been, far from a traditional starting pitcher throughout his near-decade in the majors. Plus, no matter role he filled, he helped the Chicago Cubs wriggle out of a huge jam and advance to the NLDS.

Mere hours after he took the loss in Game 2, Kittredge wriggled out of a huge jam in the ninth inning to help the Cubs steal a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series.

The Cubs will square off against the NL Central champion, and rival, Milwaukee Brewers. Game 1 will be at American Family Field at 2:08 p.m. ET.

Andrew Kittredge Was An Unlikely Hero For The Cubs

The MLB postseason can create some crazy circumstances, and Kittredge’s 28-hour span between Wednesday and Thursday was one of those.

After he earned a hold in eighth inning of Cubs‘ 3-1 win in Game 1, Kittredge was called on to open Game 2. He put them behind the 8-ball by surrendering two singles and a sac fly — a hole Chicago could not recover from in its 3-0 loss.

So after newly minted closer Brad Keller served up a solo homer to Jackson Merrill to cut the Cubs‘ ninth-inning lead to 3-1, then hit consecutive batters to put the tying run on base with one out, Cubs manager Craig Counsell called on his Game 2 opener to shut the door on the Padres.

It’s the life of a reliever,” Kittredge said, who had 23 appearances and five regular-season saves yet picked up his first career MLB postseason save Thursday. “You just gotta be ready to go when the phone rings … especially in the postseason. You never really know when it’s going to be. It could be at any time.”

On his run in from the Cubs bullpen, Kittredge — a 35-year-old journeyman who the Cubs acquired from the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline — was able to soak in the moment that was about to experience.

“Wrigley doesn’t disappoint,” Kittredge said. “It was cool. I was able to kind of soak it in right before the batter [Jake Cronenworth] stepped in and just really kind of felt the moment. It was cool.”

Yet, then Kittredge turned his focus to ensuring history didn’t repeat against the Padres — who of course Cubs fans of a certain age will recall eliminated the Cubs in the 1984 NLCS in come-from-behind fashion.

“I knew I just had to go attack,” Kittredge said. “I had to throw strikes, because count leverage is so big.”

Kittredge bounced the first pitch he threw then threw four straight strikes, inducing Cronenworth to ground out to second then catcher Freddy Fermin to fly out to center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong to end the game.

“After I bounced that first fastball, I said ‘hey, lock it in, let’s go,’” Kittredge said. “What a great feeling. I’m glad to come out with a [W].”

‘It Takes The Whole Group’ To Advance, Per Craig Counsell

The Cubs used 11 pitchers in their three-game series win, including Kittredge who pitched in all three games. No Cubs pitcher threw more than 4 1/3 innings, and Counsell threw an array of arm angles and pitch arsenals at the Padres, confining them to just five runs in three games.

But according to Counsell, whose team lacks a bona fide ace — Game 1 starter Matthew Boyd led the team with 14 wins — that is the plan, and Kittredge is a huge part of it.

“It takes the whole group [in the bullpen],” Counsell said. “It’s took the whole group all year, and it took the whole group tonight, but [Kittredge] got it done and picked up [Keller].”

Pat Pickens is an experienced sports writer and media personality who has written for outlets like NHL.com, the Associated Press, the New York Times and USA Today. He covers the NFL, NBA, NHL and NBA as a breaking news contributor at Heavy. More about Pat Pickens