The Padres are going back to Nick Pivetta for a game that can end their season or send the Cubs home.
San Diego announced Tuesday that the right-hander will start Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday night, with one team facing elimination. The decision comes with the Padres already set to use Michael King against left-hander Matthew Boyd in Game 1.
Pivetta’s path back to this moment has been a long one. He missed nearly five months of the 2026 season after an elbow injury cut short his fourth start of the year, and there was a point when it wasn’t clear he’d return at all. But after nearly five months away, he came back looking like the same pitcher San Diego leaned on before the injury.
Across four starts since returning, Pivetta has given up three runs in 18.2 innings, good for a 1.45 ERA.
“I don’t quite understand it,” Pivetta said of the emotions he felt after his return on Sept. 7.
“I think I just care so much about the game. I care about my teammates.
Care about the people around me and how much they’ve helped me through this whole process. Words can’t explain.
Just grateful to be back out there. Grateful to get the win and watch these guys play the way they have been.
And excited for things to get back to normal.”
For the Padres, that means a familiar arm is back in a familiar spot. Pivetta was the team’s ace a year ago and opened this season as the club’s Opening Day starter. He also started Game 1 of last year’s wild-card series against the Cubs, allowing two runs over five innings while striking out nine.
If the series goes the distance, Walker Buehler appears lined up for Game 3. Buehler made 32 starts this season, his most since his last All-Star campaign in 2021, and finished 9-6 with a 4.63 ERA over 153.2 innings.
He also brings the most postseason mileage on the Padres roster, with two World Series titles with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Game 2 is set for Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET and will air on Peacock and NBCSN.
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