Chicago Cubs vs San Diego Padres – NL Wild Card Series Preview: Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The regular season is over, and for the first time since 2020, the Cubs (92-70) are going to the playoffs. They secured the first Wild Card spot by winning over 90 games for just the 10th time since 1945. Finishing first in the WC means Chicago earned the right to host all three games of their series against the Padres that begins Tuesday afternoon.
The Padres (90-72) finished right behind the North Siders and have one of the most talented rosters in all of baseball. They battled the defending World Series champion Dodgers for the NL West division title until the final week of the season.
Despite a lineup littered with big names, the Padres have been pretty average on offense, finishing with a .711 team OPS that was 16th in baseball. Perhaps thanks to the pitcher-friendly environment of Petco Park, they had just 154 home runs, fewer than everyone but the Cardinals and Pirates.
The two most dangerous hitters for the Pads are Manny Machado and Fernando Tatís Jr., both of whom have huge power and can wreck any game. Jake Cronenworth has always had a lot of success against Chicago and is definitely a threat. One key piece that won’t be available is outfielder Ramon Laureano, who was on fire before breaking his finger last week.
San Diego has a lot of big arms in their rotation, but Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish have regressed a bit from 2024. That has not been the case for Game 1 starter Nick Pivetta, who has been outstanding with a 2.87 ERA in 2025.
Far and away the best aspect of the Padres roster is their bullpen, a unit with a combined 3.06 ERA, the best in baseball by a pretty wide margin. Closer Robert Suárez has 40 saves and touches triple digits regularly, and they traded for fire-balling A’s closer Mason Miller at the deadline. Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon are two more excellent arms in the relief corps.
This is such a close matchup between two very talented rosters that’s probably gonna come down to the narrowest of margins. The Cubs have been excellent at Wrigley Field this year, going 50-29. San Diego had an even better home record, but they are just 38-43 away from Petco.
After a marathon season, everything comes down just three games. The MLB playoffs are a total crapshoot and anything can happen if you get in the tournament. The North Siders have one of those coveted spots, now we just sit back and see what happens.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Tuesday, September 30 at 2:08pm CT on ABC.
- Wednesday, October 1 at 2:08pm CT on ABC.
- Thursday, October 2 at 2:08pm CT on ABC (if necessary).
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 9/30 | Matthew Boyd | 34 | L | 3.21 | 14-8 | 3.65 | 3.67 |
| Nick Pivetta | 32 | R | 2.87 | 13–5 | 3.49 | 3.80 | |
| 10/1 | TBA | ||||||
| Dylan Cease | 29 | R | 4.55 | 8-12 | 3.56 | 3.03 | |
| 10/2 | TBA | ||||||
| Yu Darvish | 39 | R | 5.38 | 5-5 | 4.82 | 3.58 |
What to Watch For
- The Cubs have not named starters for Tuesday and Wednesday, but Shōta Imanaga and Jameson Taillon are distinct possibilities to fill the spots.
- Michael Busch hit eight home runs with a .971 OPS in September.
- Seiya Suzuki won National League Player of the Week after hitting five home runs in four games to end the season.
- Kyle Tucker returned to the lineup for the final weekend of the season after missing almost a month with a calf injury. He likely will stay at DH instead of playing in the field.
- Chicago’s last playoff victory was in Game 4 of the 2017 NLCS against the Dodgers.
