Padres Host Cubs in Petco Park Wild Card Series Rematch

San Diego gets its October answer at Petco Park, where the Padres will open a National League Wild Card Series rematch with the Cubs carrying far more momentum than they had a year ago. After a 2025 finish that slipped away and a three-game elimination in Chicago, the Padres have surged into this postseason with a rested roster, a live offense and a home crowd ready for meaningful baseball.

Padres-Cubs at a glance

Game 1 is scheduled for Tuesday, with first pitch set for 10 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. CT and 7 p.m. PT. Michael King, who started the opener when San Diego swept Atlanta in the 2024 Wild Card Series, will again take the ball in Game 1.

A different October setting

The clubs met in last year’s Wild Card round at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs took the series in three games. San Diego’s offense never found much traction, scoring only five times across the set after reaching October with a lineup already dealing with the loss of Ramón Laureano to injury.

Fernando Tatis Jr. also had a difficult series, but the Padres outfielder is not interested in dragging last fall’s result into this week.

“That was last year,” Tatis said. “This is a new chance for us. We have to make the most of it and make it matter.”

Petco Park changes the backdrop. The Padres earned the right to host by closing the regular season on a 41-18 tear, and the club expects the building to look and sound like it did during its 2024 sweep of the Braves.

King remembers the effect that atmosphere can have.

“Getting home field for the Wild Card was really important,” King said. “It’s a special place when you’re playing games that mean something.”

Home field has not automatically decided these short series. Since the current postseason format began in 2022, visiting teams have won nine of the 16 Wild Card Series. Still, the Padres believe this matchup carries its own conditions: Chicago had the comfort of Wrigley last October; San Diego now has its own ballpark, its own crowd and a club playing better baseball entering the bracket.

The lineup arrives hot

The Padres have a healthier and more productive group than the one that went quiet in Chicago. Gavin Sheets returned from injury over the weekend, while Tatis, Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado have found their stride during the stretch run. Dustin Harris and Samad Taylor have also provided meaningful contributions, joined by other players who have helped deepen the lineup.

San Diego led the majors in September offense with a 127 wRC+, six points ahead of the second-place Dodgers. The number reflects a lineup producing at a level it did not reach during last season’s October exit.

“We created good momentum heading into the playoffs,” Tatis said. “Now we have to carry that into this series and keep moving from there.”

Stammen’s long view reaches October

First-year manager Craig Stammen spent much of the season managing with this moment in mind. Machado received a day off in early April after not getting his first break until the middle of September the previous year. Stammen routinely gave veteran players time out of the lineup, even when those decisions brought complaints from fans.

“Every club wants to improve as the season moves along,” Stammen said. “There are going to be highs and lows, but you want to be heading the right way at the end.”

That same restraint applied to the bullpen. There were games when Stammen could have leaned harder on Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon, but he preserved those late-inning arms rather than treating every summer night as an elimination game.

Now the calendar permits a different approach. The Padres can turn Miller and Morejon loose at the back of games, their starters arrive fresher, and their bats are carrying the form that helped deliver home field.

King sees the contrast clearly from the Padres team that went north last October.

“We weren’t swinging it well or pitching especially well then,” King said. “They caught us at the right time. We see this series in a completely different way now.”