Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (3/19/23): Cubs 5, Padres 2 – Velázquez Gives Pads Full Nelson

The Cubs played the San Diego Padres at Sloan Park on a cloudy Sunday afternoon looking for their first win in over a week. After another slow offensive start, Chicago ended up with a dramatic last at-bat victory.

Justin Steele got the start and had absolutely no control of his pitches right out of the gate. Two walks in the opening inning led to a Brandon Dixon RBI single and a 1-0 Padres advantage.

Yan Gomes single-handedly put the Cubs up in the middle innings. The veteran backstop crushed a solo home run in the 4th and singled in Trey Mancini, who had doubled, to put Chicago ahead in the 6th.

San Diego was able to tie the score when Brett Sullivan tripled in the top of the 8th. That set the stage for Nelson Velázquez, back from Team Puerto Rico in the WBC, who crushed a three-run walk-off home run for the Cubs win. (Box score)

Nelson called game! 💪 pic.twitter.com/r30shbkRYQ

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 19, 2023

Why the Cubs Won

Steele was able to limit the damage from his walks and the Cubs clubbed a couple of home runs.

Stats That Matter

• Hopefully, Steele’s walk issue was just a one day thing: 3 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 3 K, and 5 BB.
• Gomes has been displaying some power the past couple of games. It’ll be very helpful if he continues to add some pop to the bottom of the lineup.
• Nico Hoerner tripled and displayed his speed Sunday.
• Keegan Thompson again showed diminished velocity in his appearance. This is clearly a concern for the Cubs and it may force him to begin the year in Iowa.

Bottom Line

Walk-off home runs are always fun no matter when they happen. It shows just how talented Steele is that he could mostly pitch around five walks in three innings.

On Deck

The Cubs get Monday off before heading to Surprise on Tuesday night to play the Kansas City Royals at 8:05pm CT. Jameson Taillon gets the start and the coverage is available on Marquee.