Padres players, coaches get into heated altercation with umpires after season-ending loss to Cubs

Hunter Cookston

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Padres players, coaches get into heated altercation with umpires after season-ending loss to Cubs image

Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres made the playoffs once again and had to go on the road to face the Chicago Cubs. After losing Game 1, the Padres bounced back in Game 2 to force a decisive Game 3. However, their offense fell flat, and they lost 3-1 to the Cubs.

“The Padres are headed home after a 3-1 loss to the Cubs on Thursday in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field. After their Game 5 Division Series loss to the Dodgers a year ago, it’s the second consecutive year the Padres’ season has ended with disappointment in a winner-take-all game. And it didn’t go their way for largely the same reason: In the biggest games, in the biggest moments, there simply wasn’t enough offense to be found. The Padres scored five runs in the entire three-game Wild Card Series -- after famously being shut out over the final two games of their 2024 playoff run,” MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell wrote.

One of the biggest takeaways from Game 3 was a controversial ninth-inning strikeout of Xander Bogaerts on a pitch that should have resulted in a walk.

“The home plate umpire was fooled by Chicago catcher Carson Kelly in the ninth inning, calling a pitch that missed the strike zone against Bogaerts to strike him out. The former All-Star shortstop and Shildt confronted him about the call before walking back to their dugout. However, the potentially huge call buried the Padres,” ClutchPoints’ Zachary Howell wrote.

After the game, tensions boiled over as the umpire crew walked through the Padres' dugout area on their way to the clubhouse. A verbal altercation occurred between someone from the Padres organization and the umpiring crew, which escalated into some pushing and yelling.

While the missed call in the ninth inning was certainly questionable, it didn’t solely dictate the outcome of the game. Still, the postgame confrontation is not a good look for a team that had just been eliminated from the playoffs. It’s a situation the organization may need to address moving forward.

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Hunter Cookston

Hunter Cookston began his career as a sportswriter for the Marion Tribune, where he covered local high school football, basketball and baseball. His passion for sports started at the age of four when he played his first year of tee ball. Growing up in Tennessee, he developed a deep love for the Tennessee Volunteers and Atlanta Braves. Hunter is currently attending Tennessee Wesleyan University, where he is pursuing a BA in Sports Communications/Management.