SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres will host the Chicago Cubs in a best-of-three National League Wild Card Series at Petco Park, a sharp reversal from their last meeting when Chicago humiliated San Diego 23-3. That loss — the worst in the Padres' 58-year franchise history — featured three home runs and eight RBI from No. 9 hitter Dansby Swanson, capped Chicago's fifth straight win and extended San Diego's losing streak to five. Now the Padres (91-71) enter as baseball's hottest team, winners of 17 of their last 20 to clinch the top wild-card spot and reach the postseason for the third consecutive year and fifth time in seven seasons.
San Diego's rotation is held together by duct tape, but its bullpen is built to shorten games with All-Star closer Mason Miller, setup man Adrian Morejon and rookie Bradgley Rodriguez. "We played them in a playoff series last year and understand how their bullpen is going to work and how they're going to use Miller and Morejon," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, "and this year Bradgley Rodriguez has been added to that group as somebody who is pretty darn good. We've got to have good at-bats. We've got to make ourselves tough outs, and we're going to have to score against the bullpen, too, and we have scored against their bullpen. So I think we're confident." Padres ace Michael King, who will start Game 1 against Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, added: "I think we're firing on all cylinders. I think the last two months, two and a half months, the offense has possibly been the best in baseball. We've really come together as a starting rotation, and the bullpen is obviously a strong piece. I think that, when you look at us, we don't really have many weaknesses. ... We're very confident in what we've been doing the last few weeks, and we're very happy that this is the time that we got hot, and we've just got to continue it throughout all this postseason."
Star third baseman Manny Machado hit .217 with a career-low .711 OPS but still delivered 30 home runs and 91 RBI, while Fernando Tatis Jr. — who didn't homer until May 30 — hit .289 with 25 homers and 83 RBI. First baseman Ty France, signed to a minor-league contract this spring, added 21 homers and 72 RBI. Machado, who questioned a reporter on Monday, Sept. 28 for wearing a bright blue suit resembling Dodger colors, said this is the best Padres team since his arrival in 2019. "I mean, experience," Machado said. "At the end of the day, it goes back to experience. We have a lot of the same group that was here last year. Hopefully we get a lot further. But ultimately, I think it's just believing in ourselves, believing in the group that we have in there and go out there and just continue to do what we've been doing."
"It's a new year, it's a different year," Machado said. "Obviously, that stung last year for us. They played better ball than us last year. This year's going to be a little bit different. Playing in front of our home crowd and playing in front of these fans here, I think it's going to be a lot different. Definitely looking forward to that rematch for sure." San Diego went 26-6 in its last 32 home games and will play the entire series at Petco Park after losing in three games to the Cubs at Wrigley Field in last year's wild-card round. "I think being at home is huge," Machado said. "We love playing here, playing in front of this crowd, playing in the stadium. Obviously sleeping at home and being at home is a big advantage, but I think the biggest one is playing in front of the home crowd. They've brought the energy all year."
The Padres are chasing their first World Series title after two previous trips — beating the Cubs in the 1984 NLCS before losing in five games to the Detroit Tigers, and getting swept by the New York Yankees in 1998. They are still haunted by 2024, when they led the Los Angeles Dodgers two games to one in the NL Division Series with Game 4 at home before being shut out in the next two games. Chicago won five of six regular-season meetings this year, but San Diego believes the home crowd and late-season surge change the equation as it seeks a return to the World Series after 28 years.