The Chicago Cubs eliminated the San Diego Padres from the postseason a year ago and then scored 55 runs while going 5-1 against them this season.
But nobody is expecting that type of one-sided matchup to continue as the Padres are hotter than lava entering Tuesday night’s National League wild-card series opener against visiting Chicago.
The Padres (91-71) are a sizzling 41-18 since July 24, transforming a bumbling campaign into a third straight postseason berth, a first in franchise history.
In the final days of the season, San Diego overtook the Cubs (89-73) to secure the No. 4 seed, granting the Padres home-field advantage in the best-of-three series. Chicago, the No. 5 seed, hosted at Wrigley Field last season and beat the Padres in three games in the wild-card round.
Playing the series at pitcher-friendly Petco Park could lessen the Cubs’ offensive advantage. Chicago led the majors with 850 runs this season, while the Padres scored 722.
The Cubs feature leading NL MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong, who recorded a 40-40 season by tying for the major league lead with 45 homers and adding 41 steals. He also led the majors with 84 extra-base hits and 119 runs.
Crow-Armstrong batted .364 (8-for-22) with four homers and 10 RBIs against San Diego this season.
“I’m looking forward to playing a really good ballclub and getting another crack at them and starting this playoffs off on a high note,” Crow-Armstrong said Monday.
San Diego’s Manny Machado batted a career-low .217 but smacked 30 homers, marking the eighth time in his career he has hit at least that many.
More important to the Padres is Fernando Tatis Jr., who didn’t hit his first homer until May 30 and had just five at the All-Star break. He hit 20 blasts after the break and was a major catalyst for the team’s torrid 59-game finish.
“It’s a baseball game. We have to get 27 outs and hopefully be the last team standing,” Machado said.
Right-hander Michael King (12-10, 3.21 ERA) will start for the Padres against Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd (10-5, 3.91).
King has made two career postseason starts, both in 2024 for the Padres. The most memorable one came in Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Atlanta Braves when he tossed seven shutout innings and struck out 12.
King gave up one hit and struck out three in one inning of relief against the Cubs in the 2025 postseason series, his lone appearance against them with the Padres. He also twice faced Chicago in relief when he was with the New York Yankees.
“Very professional lineup,” King said of the Cubs. “They were first in runs this year and it shows. I keep saying that when the pitcher executes, we have the upper hand so I have to make sure I am executing throughout and putting up as many zeroes as I can.”
Chicago’s Alex Bregman is 7-for-8 with two doubles against King.
Bregman surged over the final two months, delivering 17 homers and 46 RBIs to get his season outputs to 28 and 93, respectively.
Bregman is playing with multiple fractures in his left cheek after getting hit by a foul ball off the bat of teammate Michael Busch during a game on Sept. 20.
Boyd, 35, is 0-1 with a 1.66 ERA in seven playoff appearances (six starts). He was 0-1 with a 2.79 ERA in three starts for Chicago last postseason and gave up one run and four hits over 4 1/3 innings when the Cubs beat the Padres in Game 1 of last year’s wild-card series.
“The Padres are one of the hottest teams in baseball the past few weeks,” Boyd said. “That’s not surprising. We’ve seen them firsthand — this year, last year. I always firmly believe that it’s more about what’s in this clubhouse and less about what’s on the other side. Take care of your business.”
Boyd is 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA in four regular-season outings against San Diego. Machado is 9-for-20 (.450) with a homer and four doubles against Boyd.
The winner of this series faces the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series.
–Field Level Media
