The Padres are heading into Wednesday’s finale at Wrigley Field with the kind of pressure that comes from a series gone sideways. San Diego has already dropped the first two games to the Chicago Cubs, and now the mission is simple: avoid the sweep and try to open July with a win.
Tuesday night’s 9-7 loss looked tighter on the scoreboard than it really was. Fernando Tatis Jr. gave San Diego an immediate jolt with a towering leadoff homer that landed on Waveland Ave., but the Cubs took control fast and kept the Padres chasing for most of the night.
A Tatis error in the first inning opened the door for Chicago, turning what should have been an inning-ending double play into an RBI single for catcher Carson Kelly. From there, the Cubs kept stacking damage. Dansby Swanson launched a solo shot in the second, Alex Bregman added a three-run homer in the same inning, and Chicago’s power barrage kept rolling from there.
Manny Machado tried to drag the Padres back into it with a two-run homer in the third, but the Cubs answered again. Michael Busch and Swanson went deep in the fifth, Pete Crow-Armstrong homered in the sixth, and San Diego was still behind when the late rally finally showed up.
That comeback attempt came in the eighth, when pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets crushed a three-run homer and Tatis added his second blast of the game. Suddenly it was a ballgame again, but that was as close as San Diego got.
JP Sears took the loss after allowing six earned runs in 4.2 innings. Matthew Boyd worked five innings for Chicago and gave up three runs.
Now the Padres turn to Walker Buehler in the finale, and he’s been the steadiest arm in their rotation. The two-time World Series champion enters at 5-3 with a 3.81 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 70 strikeouts against 26 walks over 16 starts and 78 innings. His season started unevenly, but he’s settled in nicely, not allowing more than three runs in any of his last nine starts and giving up just one run in each of his last five outings.
Chicago will counter with Colin Rea, who has had a rough overall year but has been sharp lately. Rea is 5-5 with a 4.80 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 63 strikeouts to 31 walks across 17 games, including 13 starts and 84.1 innings. Over his last two starts, he’s allowed just one total run in 10.1 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays.
First pitch is set for 11:20 a.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.
In Other News...
Padres Fans Can Feel What This Latest A.J. Preller Rumor Means
A major ownership shift has put the Padres back in the center of the conversation around how this front office might operate going forward. With the franchise changing hands in a reported record sale, the kind of spending questions that usually hover around San Diego are getting a fresh look, especially with A.J. Prellers reputation for acting decisively when the market opens up.
For a club sitting in second place in the NL West and trying to stay in the mix around the final Wild Card chase, the timing matters. A mixed season and a little recent turbulence have only sharpened the attention on what San Diego can realistically do next, and the uncertainty around the 2026 deadline now feels like it could tilt in a more aggressive direction if the new financial picture holds. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Fans Wont Love Where Nick Pivettas Return Suddenly Stands
Nick Pivettas path back is at least moving again, which is the first encouraging sign the Padres have had in a while from a rotation that has taken hit after hit. The right-hander has been out since mid-April with a flexor strain in his right elbow, and he has recently begun a throwing progression as the club continues to take the cautious route with his recovery.
For a Padres staff already navigating injuries to Joe Musgrove, Lucas Giolito, Germn Mrquez and Matt Waldron, even a slow ramp-up matters because every healthy arm counts. The trouble is that there is still no firm answer on when Pivetta might actually help, and the clubs original hope for a return after the All-Star break now looks more like a rough target than a promise. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Suddenly Face An Uncomfortable Jarren Duran Deadline Decision
As the trade deadline approaches, the Padres are weighing whether to add an outfield bat, and one hypothetical match from former MLB general manager Jim Bowden has put Boston's Jarren Duran in the conversation. The appeal is clear from San Diego's side: Duran has the speed and versatility to fit plenty of lineup looks, and his name naturally comes up for a club searching for ways to sharpen its roster before the market tightens.
The wrinkle is that Duran's recent production has made any decision in Boston more complicated, and the Red Sox would have to decide how much patience they have left with a player whose season has sagged in several key areas. Bowden's proposal does not stop with one player, either, since a deal could grow if closer Aroldis Chapman is pulled into the discussion, leaving both clubs with a bigger deadline question than a simple one-for-one swap. [Read more 🡒]