Chicago Cubs reveal starter for Thursday’s elimination game

It all comes down to Thursday for the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres.

After the Cubs won Tuesday’s opener in the NL Wild Card series, the Padres answered right back with a big win on Wednesday as the bats went cold for Chicago. The Chicago Cubs couldn’t manage a run, getting just one hit total against Dylan Cease and the Padres’ bullpen. And a Manny Machado two-run home run sealed the 3-0 win for San Diego.

Now, the teams will push all of their chips into the center of the table for Thursday’s do-or-die Game 3.

Chicago Cubs turn to Jameson Taillon

Following Wednesday’s loss, manager Craig Counsell revealed that the Cubs would be turning to veteran pitcher Jameson Taillon for the start. Taillon will oppose former Cubs pitcher, Yu Darvish, in the critical game at Wrigley Field.

With Chicago opting to go with a opener and then Shota Imanaga after one inning, it left Taillon to go in Game 3 on normal rest.

Collin Rea was also considered going into Wednesday’s game but the Cubs used him in relief. That burned any chance he would have to be the starter in Game 3 and the Cubs can now use him in relief if needed again.

The Cubs will start Jameson Taillon in Game 3. The Padres will counter with former Cub Yu Darvish.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) October 1, 2025

For Taillon, he’s coming off a win in his last start, beating the Cardinals over the weekend in the final series of the year. In that game, he gave up three hits and two walks over six innings. The 33-year-old finished the season with a 3.68 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across 129.2 frames in the regular season.

He faced the Padres earlier this season, allowing two earned runs in 5.1 innings in a 10-4 loss.

The veteran spoke after the 3-0 loss on Wednesday and is ready for the moment.

“You do a lot of work throughout the years and throughout the season to be ready for big moments,” Taillon said via the Chicago Sun-Times. “And I’m looking forward to it.”

“Every start has its own life,” Taillon said. “They don’t care how I’ve been feeling, I have to go out there and execute pitches. But that being said, you obviously want to go in with some momentum and some confidence. So, I feel good about where I’m at, I feel good about the work we’ve done between starts, and I’ll be ready to go.”

The Chicago Cubs are going to have to hit better on Thursday as well. They had just the four hits in Wednesday’s loss and watched as the Padres’ pitching staff led by Cease and Mason Miller dominated them.