With the top wild card spot in the National League now in their hands, the San Diego Padres can turn their attention towards hosting the Chicago Cubs in their first postseason series. Friar faithful now know when they'll be able to cheer on their team, too.
MLB announced the start times for all four wild card series starting Tuesday, Sept. 29 and running through Thursday, Oct. 1. All but two matchups are set; the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are having a mid-off to decide who will be the division winner with the worst record in 21 years, and the Philadelphia Phillies are trying to avoid a monumental collapse in the final game of the regular season to keep the Arizona Diamondbacks out.
Other than that, Red Sox-Yankees and Padres-Cubs are all
set to get the 2026 postseason underway.
The Padres get the late game in every scenario, being the westernmost team in the wild card. Each of their three-game series with the Cubs will begin at 7 p.m. PT. But in the event of a Game 3, there are a couple different scenarios to look out for.
Here are the scheduled start times for Padres-Cubs, including all Game 3 scenarios for Thursday, Oct. 1:
San Diego Padres wild card schedule
Here's the full schedule for the Padres-Cubs wild card series along with their TV channel. All times are PT.
Tuesday, Sept. 29
- Cubs at Padres Game 1: 7 p.m., Petco Park, San Diego, California; Peacock & NBCSN
Wednesday, Sept. 30
- Cubs at Padres Game 2: 7 p.m., Petco Park, San Diego, California; Peacock & NBCSN
Thursday, Oct. 1
Four-game scenario
- Cubs at Padres Game 3: 7 p.m., Petco Park, San Diego, California; Peacock & NBCSN
Three-game scenarios
If D-backs/Phillies vs. Braves series is over:
- Cubs at Padres Game 3: 7 p.m., Petco Park, San Diego, California; Peacock & NBCSN
If Red Sox vs. Yankees series is over:
- Cubs at Padres Game 3: 5 p.m., Petco Park, San Diego, California; Peacock & NBCSN
If White Sox vs. Rangers/Astros series is over:
- Cubs at Padres Game 3: 7 p.m., Petco Park, San Diego, California; Peacock & NBCSN
Two-game scenarios
If Red Sox vs. Yankees and White Sox vs. Rangers/Astros are over:
- Cubs at Padres Game 3: 5 p.m., Petco Park, San Diego, California; Peacock & NBCSN
If Red Sox vs. Yankees and Diamondbacks/Phillies vs Braves are over:
- Cubs at Padres Game 3: 5 p.m., Petco Park, San Diego, California; Peacock & NBCSN
If White Sox vs. Rangers/Astros and Diamondbacks/Phillies vs Braves are over:
- Cubs at Padres Game 3: 6:30 p.m., Petco Park, San Diego, California; Peacock & NBCSN
One-game scenario
If Thursday, Oct. 1, has only one Game 3, then it will be played at 5 p.m. on NBC and Peacock
Who will be Padres' NLDS opponent?
If the Padres win their wild card series, they would advance to take on the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS. It'll be a tough one, with the Brew Crew reaching 100 wins for the first time in franchise history and claiming at least a share of the NL's best record, but the Padres had success against them in 2026, having won four of their six regular season meetings. Luis Campusano walked off their final matchup in the 11th inning on Aug. 12 on an opposite-field base hit that scored Sung-Mun Song from second base to finish off a three-game sweep of Milwaukee.
Will the Padres play the Dodgers in the NL playoffs?
In order for the two NL West rivals to square off again in the postseason, they would both need to advance to the NLCS. That means the Padres would need to take care of business against the Brewers and the Dodgers, who have a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed in the NL, would have to beat their opponent, which would either be the Braves or Phillies.
If it does happen, it would be the fourth postseason meeting between the two in the last six years. The Dodgers came away victorious last time in 2024 after a dramatic 2-1 comeback to eliminate the Padres after holding them scoreless for 24 consecutive innings. L.A. went on to win the first of its back-to-back World Series titles.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When are the Padres playing the Cubs? MLB announces wild card game times
