After six long months of competition, the Major League Baseball season reaches its climax. The playoffs get underway on Tuesday with the Wild Card games in both circuits, in which eight teams will be playing to advance to the Divisional Series, where Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Toronto and Seattle are already waiting.
In the most evenly matched wild-card matchup in the National League, the Cubs will host the Padres at Wrigley Field, where both will be looking to take a firm first step in the postseason after several years of disappointment. Chicago has not won a postseason game since 2017 and San Diego carries the heavy burden of never having won a World Series title,
Honours
- San Diego Padres: no World Series, two National League titles. They are one of five teams to never win a championship along with the Brewers, Mariners, Rays and Rockies.
- Chicago Cubs: 3 World Series, 17 National League titles. They have not played a postseason game since 2020.
Head-to-head
- Historical matchup: 239 wins for the Padres, 285 wins for the Cubs in the regular season.
- Showdown in 2025: three wins apiece five and a half months ago.
- Postseason meetings: They have only crossed paths once (1984 Championship Series) with a 3-2 victory for the Padres, who lost the World Series against the Tigers that year.
- Home factor: The Cubs have a 152-110 record as hosts against the Padres. However, San Diego has won nine of its last 13 games at Wrigley Field.
The stars
Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres): After the first two months of the season, he was projected to hit more than 35 home runs, but between June and August he hit just five more balls beyond the limits in 360 plate appearances. However, Tatis finished strong with seven homers and a .549 slugging percentage in September. His role on the team is fundamental because of his offensive impact, his stellar defense in right field and his leadership skills. Against the Cubs he performed well with a .955 OPS in 29 trips to the plate.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs): The Cubs hadn’t had a 30-homer, 30-steal player since Sammy Sosa did it in 1993 and 1995. It took 30 years, but the young outfielder, who is a spectacle defending center field, has done it. However, there are doubts about PCA, who was a real MVP candidate in the first half of the season (25 home runs, 27 steals, 71 RBIs and an .847 OPS) and then completely faded (just five home runs and a .634 OPS in the second half of 2025). Perhaps this is why it is a bit risky to place him as the Cubs’ star, but the kid has shown personality and can take the lead when it comes down to it.
The keys
The Padres have their rotation set for this series. Nick Pivetta, Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish, three reliable arms, will take the mound. However, what really makes this team so fearsome is its brilliant bullpen. Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta, Robert Suarez and the supersonic Mason Miller form a group of relievers capable of holding on and protecting slim leads.
The Friars’ pitching will be a key factor in this series, especially considering that they have not been a particularly productive team against left-handed pitchers such as Japan’s Shota Imanaga or Matthew Boyd, who should be the Cubs’ first starters.
Prediction
Padres win 2-0.
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