It's '84 all over again: Padres-Cubs meet at Wrigley Field in best of three Wild Card Series

After a 90-72 regular season finish, the Friars re-embark on their World Series chase. The first stop on the trail are the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Here's what to expect from Chicago:

It's been a year's long wait to get back to October for San Diego. Starting Tuesday afternoon, more than 41,000 Chicagoans and some Friar Faithful will fill the stands in the North Side of The Windy City for Game 1 of the 2025 National League Wild Card Series. The matchup between the Padres and Cubs will mark the first between the two clubs in the postseason since the 1984 NLCS and will continue a thrilling back-and-forth season series that finished tied at 3-3 apiece this year.

The Cubs clinched the NL's no. 4 seed on Saturday with a 7-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, ensuring playoff baseball at Wrigley Field for the first time since the pandemic shortened 2020 season and the first with fans in attendance since 2018. Home field advantage for this series was a hot commodity for both clubs, as Chicago and San Diego play their best baseball on their respective home turfs. The Padres finished the season with a 52-29 record at Petco Park, while the latter played to a tune of 50-31.

Pitching matchups 

Game 1: Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (13-5, 2.87 ERA) vs. Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd (14-8, 3.21 ERA) 12:08 p.m. PT on ABC

Who else but Nick Pivetta in Game 1 for San Diego. The Padres' rotation anchor will make just his second career playoff start in the series opener. The right-hander tossed 13 2/3 innings during the 2021 postseason as a member of the Boston Red Sox, posting a 2.63 ERA with 14 strikeouts. Pivetta faced the Cubs at Wrigley Field in a frigid atmosphere on April 5. He allowed three runs in three frames. He went 5-4 with a 3.55 ERA and 77 strikeouts on the road this year.

Lefty Matthew Boyd will counter Pivetta and the Padres for Chicago. Boyd's tremendous season featured an NL All-Star selection and a near-perfect 12-1 record at home. Left-handed batters are hitting at a .231 clip against him with 43 punch outs. Boyd has struggled as of late however, posting a 6.08 ERA with 12 walks in his last 37 innings pitched.

Game 2: Padres RHP Dylan Cease (8-12, 4.55 ERA) vs. Cubs TBD 12:08 p.m. PT on ABC

Will Dylan Cease's redemption arc begin on Wednesday? Ever since struggling in the 2024 postseason against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cease has hit some low points throughout 2025. However, his most recent outings have been encouraging. Look for Mike Shildt to have a quick hook on Cease if he starts to falter in the middle innings, which have been his kryptonite. He possesses a 4.62 ERA second time through an opposing lineup's order. Cease has garnered success over the Cubs in his career, going 4-2 with a 2.47 ERA and 61 strikeouts against them.

Story will be updated once Chicago has announced a starting pitcher for Game 2.

Game 3 (If necessary): Padres RHP Yu Darvish (5-5, 5.38 ERA) vs. Cubs TBD 12:08 p.m. PT on ABC

You might remember the December 2020 swap between the Padres and Cubs that brought Yu Darvish and catcher Victor Caratini to the Padres. It was in that same deal that Chicago acquired now top outfield prospect Owen Caissie. That seems like a lifetime ago. Now, Darvish has the opportunity to send his former team packing if this series goes past two games. This season's iteration of the veteran righty has see-sawed between good start and bad start, but earned a win in his last outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. Despite logging limited innings pitched last season, Darvish went 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA in the 2024 playoffs.

Story will be updated once Chicago has announced a starter for a potential Game 3.

Notable injuries

Padres: LF Ramón Laureano will at the very least miss the Wild Card Series with a fractured right index finger. Despite recent struggles, Laureano slashed .269/.323/.489 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs after being acquired by the Friars at the trade deadline. A true revelation to what had been a black hole in left field for San Diego. His absence from the right-handed hitter's box will leave the Padres lineup a bit unbalanced, considering Chicago's plethora of left-handers in their bullpen and starting rotation. C Elias Díaz's status is unclear. The Padres' secondary backstop left the field mid-AB with what appeared to be a left oblique injury on Saturday against Arizona. Although Díaz's offensive numbers don't jump off the stat sheet, he has been Game 1 starter Nick Pivetta's personal catcher all season. If he can't suit up for Tuesday's opener, it will be interesting to see how well primary catcher Freddy Fermín guides Pivetta through his outing.

Cubs: RHP Cade Horton will miss the first round of the postseason due to a rib fracture. The rookie right-hander made huge strides to arguably be the best starting pitcher in the second half this season. In his last 15 starts, Horton amassed an 8-3 record with 66 strikeouts and a 2.10 ERA in 77 innings pitched. Chicago's best starter being out in such an evenly-matched bout could make the difference in how this series turns out.

Stars to watch

Padres: RF Fernando Tatis Jr. was made for the bright lights of October. His 1.328 career postseason OPS ranks first amongst all active players. Tatis hit .321 with five homers and nine RBIs across his last 56 at-bats of the regular season. 3B Manny Machado's struggled mightily through August and September, but ended his 2025 campaign with 27 round trippers and his usual 95 RBIs. SS Xander Bogaerts could serve as a right-handed hitting wild card in the Friars lineup against the Cubs. The decorated veteran found his power stroke against the D-backs over the weekend, launching a two-run shot into the top basket of the Western Metal Supply Co. building off of lefty Eduardo Rodríguez. Bogaerts hit .292/.345/.429 with 12 doubles and three homers against left-handed pitching this year.

Cubs: RF Seiya Suzuki finished off his 2025 campaign by clubbing five home runs in Chicago's final four games, setting a career high with a total of 32 on the season. His .478 slugging percentage ranked 13th in the NL. CF Pete Crow-Armstrong will make his postseason debut after an All-Star season. The man they call 'PCA' heavily struggled out of the break, but ended the season with 72 XBH which included 31 homers. He also tallied 95 RBIs. Already having a flare for the dramatic, Crow-Armstrong could provide some memorable moments playoff moments for the Cubs starting Tuesday. OF/DH Kyle Tucker is absolutely loaded with postseason experience from his time with the Houston Astros. The lefty bat has competed in 64 playoff contests and can bring a lot of wisdom this time of year to a young Chicago team looking to make a deep run this fall. He hit .308 with a .879 OPS in his last seven games.

Keys to Milwaukee

The Padres played to a sub .500 record of 38-43 on the road in 2025. It's in their best interest to throw that out the window. A Wild Card Series victory in a volatile ballpark such as Wrigley Field, will require San Diego to score early and preferably often. If the top of the lineup can set up the middle of the order for success, it won't be long until Mike Shildt deploys baseball's best bullpen and perhaps most feared reliever in Mason Miller, who possesses a 17.36 K/9 and a 0.77 ERA since August 1. The Friars pen' boasts a combined MLB leading 3.06 ERA.

An intriguing development regarding San Diego relievers is right-hander starter Michael King working in a relief role this series. "It's another weapon," said Shildt during a media session with reporters. King, 30, is still finding his command after two extended stints on the IL this season. Don't be surprised to see him in action, as it seems the Padres will not hesitate to use him. He pitched to a 5-3 record with 76 strikeouts and a 3.44 ERA in 15 starts.

For the Cubs, exploiting the unbalanced lineup of five lefties to four righties in the San Diego lineup could pay dividends. If starters Boyd and Imanaga, along with southpaw relievers Taylor Rogers, Drew Pomeranz, and Caleb Thielbar can stifle the Padre offense, the series could tilt in favor of Chicago. The Cubs offense also ranked 3rd in home runs with 223. Hitting the ball in the air with that Windy City breeze might prove deadly.

One teams' season can be ended as quickly as Wednesday afternoon. Will it be the Friars who keep swingin' to American Family Field? Or will Craig Counsell and The North Siders play their way to some in-division chaos against their NL Central rivals? It all starts now. Welcome to October.