CHICAGO — The Cubs have been striving to return to the postseason since dismantling the old core group that helped the franchise end its 108-year World Series drought in 2016. The Padres have been one of baseball’s elite teams in recent years, though they have yet to bring home the organization’s first title.
The Cubs and Padres are now set for a best-of-three National League Wild Card Series clash that begins on Tuesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
“You’re kind of on cloud nine,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, “knowing that there’s 12 teams playing and you’re one of them. And you’ve got one of the most fun baseball games to play on Tuesday. We’re ready for it. We’re looking forward to it.”
Following a two-year rebuilding period, the Cubs established a foundation with a new veteran core (led by Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson), infused some younger talent (highlighted by dynamic center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong) and worked to add star power with the acquisition of Kyle Tucker for this season.
The result was a 92-win showing that netted the first playoff home games with fans in the stands since 2018. The Cubs will be looking for their first postseason series win since advancing to the ‘17 NLCS.
“Being able to clinch home-field advantage for the first round is really special,” Swanson said. “We’ve worked a lot all year to be able to get to this point. You do a lot of things as a group to gel and to get to this point, to build chemistry. It’s just a part of the journey. It’s not the end spot, but it’s part of it.
“The fans that have supported us all year deserve moments like this, deserve to be able to experience playoff games at Wrigley. There’s nothing like being able to play in front of your home team.”
The Padres finished runner-up to the Dodgers in the NL West and to the Cubs in the NL Wild Card race, but the team is entering its fourth playoff run in the past six years. It reached the NLDS in 2024 and NLCS in ‘22. This year’s run goes through the NL Central, with the Cubs in the first round and the division-champion Brewers awaiting the winner in the NLDS.
“Clearly that’s a good team, had a great season,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said of the Cubs. “They’re very talented across the board — the pitching, the position players. They play defense, they do a lot of different things to win games, which clearly you have to do to get in the playoffs. … It’ll be a great series, I’m sure.”
When is the game, and how can I watch it?
MLB announced that both Tuesday’s Game 1 and Wednesday’s Game 2 of the Wild Card Series between the Padres and Cubs will air at 2 p.m. CT/noon PT on ABC. The start time for a potential Game 3 on Thursday remains TBD.
All series are available in the U.S. on MLB.TV with authentication to a participating Pay TV provider. Games are also available live internationally, although not in Canada.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Padres: Nick Pivetta (13-5, 2.87 ERA)
Pivetta has been the Padres’ steadiest starter this season by a mile, so he has earned the Game 1 nod. But his postseason experience is limited. He made three appearances for the 2021 Red Sox, posting a 2.63 ERA. Pivetta sports one of the Majors’ best fastballs and pairs it with a couple of putaway breaking pitches. He signed a four-year deal with the Padres on the first day of full-squad workouts this spring — a move which has since proven to be one of the shrewdest of the 2024-25 offseason.
Cubs: Matthew Boyd (14-8, 3.21 ERA)
What are the starting lineups?
Padres
The Cubs feature a mix of power and speed, as evidenced by the club being just the third MLB team in history (along with the 2009 Phillies and 1988 Mets) with a trio of players (Crow-Armstrong, Swanson and Tucker) with 20 homers and 20 steals. Busch, Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki made this only the second Cubs team in history with at least three 30-homer players, while Crow-Armstrong joined Sammy Sosa as the only players in franchise history with a 30-30 showing.
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Padres: The Padres built a super-bullpen when they acquired Mason Miller at the Trade Deadline, though that deep ‘pen took a hit with Jason Adam’s season-ending left quadriceps injury. The formula is simple enough: Robert Suarez has the ninth. Miller will get the highest-leverage spot before the ninth. Adrian Morejon will face the trickiest lefties. And Jeremiah Estrada gets whatever big outs are left. If the Padres need the middle innings covered, David Morgan and Wandy Peralta are options. Michael King, who is not a part of the Wild Card Series rotation, will be available in relief as well.
Cubs: Hard-throwing righty Daniel Palencia pitched his way into Counsell’s circle of trust and emerged as a closer midseason, but a right shoulder issue took him out of the mix for most of September. Palencia has since returned, but the Cubs have been going with a group of arms for the later innings rather than putting him right back into the ninth-inning role. Andrew Kittredge and Brad Keller have been the main righties at the back, with Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz providing the lefty counter-balance. Righty Michael Soroka and lefty Taylor Rogers offer even more depth.
Any injuries of note?
Padres: Laureano is a major loss for a San Diego offense that has already struggled against left-handed pitching this season. He will miss the Wild Card Series at least, and if the Padres were to advance, he would likely be out beyond that. Elias Díaz was left off the roster as he deals with a left oblique injury he sustained on a swing Saturday. San Diego is carrying three catchers to overcome his absence.
Cubs: Tucker missed three-plus weeks due to a left calf strain before returning from the injured list for the final weekend of the regular season. He came back as a DH because he was still not running at 100%, and he will likely stay in that role for Game 1. Catcher Miguel Amaya (left ankle) has been out since mid-August, but he might be nearing availability if Chicago’s catching situation hits a snag in October. Righty Cade Horton was thought to be a Game 1 or 2 starting possibility, but a right rib fracture landed him on the 15-day IL on Saturday. His status for deeper in the postseason — should the Cubs advance — is uncertain at this point.
Who is hot and who is not?
Padres: Fernando Tatis Jr., after a power outage that spanned much of the summer, was red hot in September, including three homers in his past four games. Luis Arraez also struggled for much of the year, but batted .352 in the final month. Manny Machado, meanwhile, was excellent for most of the season but batted just .207 in September.
Cubs: Suzuki closed out the regular season with homers in each of his final four games, launching five total in that span. Hoerner turned things up a notch in September, hitting .333 in the season’s final month. Imanaga had a 6.51 ERA in September, allowing 10 homers (within 30 hits overall) in 27 2/3 innings. Crow-Armstrong hit .224 with a .646 OPS in September, but looked to be finding his rhythm at the right time. He had two homers with a .357 (5-for-14) average in his last four games.
Anything else fans might want to know?
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