SAN DIEGO, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Chris Young and four relievers combined on a four-hit shutout Wednesday and kept San Diego's playoff hopes alive with a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
The Padres remained two games behind division-leading San Francisco in the National League West and trail Atlanta by 1 1/2 games in the chase for the wild-card berth. San Francisco and San Diego will meet in their final three games of the season beginning Friday.
Young (2-0) has spent most of the season on the disabled list with an injured right shoulder, but he was given the vital start against the Cubs and he went five solid innings.
He struck out six and allowed three hits before giving way to the bullpen. Ryan Webb, Luke Gregerson and Mike Adams worked a perfect inning each, with Gregerson striking out the side in the seventh, and Heath Bell survived a one-out single in the ninth to collect his 45th save.
Adrian Gonzalez scored on Chase Headley's infield single in the second to give the Padres the lead, Ryan Ludwick came in on a wild pitch in the fourth and David Eckstein had an RBI double in the fifth.
Randy Wells (8-14) took the loss, allowing three runs on six hits in seven innings.
