The Padres get the Cubs at Petco Park for the 2026 Major League Baseball postseason wild-card round, and this matchup comes with some baggage.
San Diego was knocked out by Chicago in three games in last year’s wild-card series, a result Manny Machado made sure to address on Monday.
"Obviously that stung last year for us," Padres veteran Manny Machado said on Monday. "They played better ball than us last year.
This year's going to be a little bit different. Hopefully we go out there and take care of business.
Obviously 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."
The regular-season meetings lean Chicago’s way, too. The clubs played six times this year, and the Cubs won five. But all of those games came in the first half, before San Diego’s late surge changed the look of the team entirely.
Jake Cronenworth said that stretch against Chicago came during a brutal slide for the Padres.
“Honestly, you probably look at that part of the season as probably the lowest of lows for us,” second baseman Jake Cronenworth said of their early-season series against the Cubs. “It’s right in the middle of an eight-game losing streak. Not just an eight-game losing streak, but we’re getting crushed night in, night out."
Michael King, who gets the ball for Tuesday’s Game 1, said the Padres are walking into this series with a much different feel.
"We are a totally different team," added right-handed pitcher Michael King, who's starting Tuesday's Game 1. "We have a totally different outlook on this series coming in, totally different game plan of how we're going to attack because we've got a lot of confidence in our pitchers and hitters to actually execute this time."
San Diego has plenty of momentum behind it. The Padres won 17 of their last 20 games and finished 41-18 over the final 59 games of the season. If they keep rolling, the reward is a trip to the National League Division Series against the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Brewers.
The Padres On SI staff expects the home team to carry that form into the series. J.P.
Hoornstra pointed to Petco Park and San Diego’s bullpen as a major edge, picking the Padres in two. Gabe Smallson also backed San Diego, noting the Cubs’ 11-13 finish to the season against the Padres’ 18-6 run, though he said Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong - this year’s National League MVP - could help the Cubs steal a game.
His pick: Padres in three.
Ricardo Sandoval made the same call, saying five solid innings from the rotation would be enough for the bullpen to take over and that San Diego’s crowd could make life miserable for Chicago. Jason Fray went with the Padres in three as well, citing confidence, home field and the starting pitching edge. Noah Camras completed the sweep, pointing to the Cubs’ 17-22 record since Aug. 15 and San Diego’s 25-14 mark in that same stretch, while predicting the Cubs would win once before the Padres advance.
The consensus from the staff is clear: San Diego’s hot finish, bullpen depth and home-field setting have this series tilted toward the Padres.
In Other News...
Manny Machado Just Added More Heat To Cubs Padres Rivalry
The Cubs postseason matchup with the Padres was already carrying plenty of edge, and Manny Machado managed to add a little more before the first pitch. During a press conference ahead of the Wild Card series, the San Diego third baseman drew attention for a sharp response to reporter Karthik Venkataraman after being asked about the reporters attire, a moment that quickly went viral and gave an already tense series another talking point.
Chicagos side of the bracket does not need much more fuel, but this kind of pregame flashpoint tends to linger once October baseball starts. With Game 1 set for Tuesday night in San Diego, the Cubs now head into a best-of-3 series with a little extra noise surrounding one of the Padres most recognizable players, and little doubt that every early exchange will be watched closely. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Just Learned The Pitching Test Waiting In Game 2
The Cubs now know the pitching challenge waiting in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series, and it comes in the form of Nick Pivetta. San Diego has officially lined up the right-hander for the second game against Chicago, a sign the Padres are comfortable handing a big spot to a pitcher who only recently returned after nearly five months away with an elbow injury.
Pivettas recent starts have gone well enough to earn that trust, which raises the degree of difficulty for a Cubs lineup that already has to navigate October pressure on the road. And if the series pushes to a decisive Game 3, Chicago would likely see another familiar name on the mound in Walker Buehler, giving the Cubs a clear sense that San Diegos pitching plan is built to make every game feel like a different kind of test. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Gave The Cubs A Wild-Card Twist To Worry About
The wild-card picture for the Cubs got a little clearer, and a little more complicated, when San Diego unveiled its 26-man roster for the series. The Padres are carrying 15 position players and 11 pitchers, and the group looks built for a short, tactical matchup with enough catching depth to give them options behind the plate. For Chicago, the roster read was a reminder that October baseball often turns on the smallest personnel decisions.
The most notable development is Joe Musgroves return to the postseason roster after missing the 2025 season following Tommy John surgery. He last pitched in the 2024 wild-card series, and his presence adds another experienced arm to a Padres staff that also made a few eye-catching calls at the margins, including keeping Andujar and Sheets while leaving Sung-Mun Song, Wandy Peralta and Randy Vasquez off the list. For the Cubs, the challenge now is figuring out how San Diego intends to deploy all of those pieces once the series gets moving. [Read more 🡒]