The Los Angeles Dodgers have established a dynasty in the National League West and the Milwaukee Brewers are pretty much unbeatable in the Central.
That leaves the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs to battle on the undercard - and that was a pretty compelling match one year ago.
This time, it's San Diego's Petco Park, not Wrigley Field, that will host the two teams that battled through three games before the Cubs prevailed in the decisive finale a year ago.
And now, the Cubs have Alex Bregman on their side.
The two-time World Series champ and postseason constant bounced back from facial fractures suffered Sept. 20 when he was struck in the left eye by a foul ball. Five days later, he was back in the Cubs lineup and Sunday, he hit two home runs and had
three hits in the Cubs' season-finale against Boston, moved to Tropicana Field for weather purposes.
Yet in a series matching a pair of rotations that fall shy of dominant, the Padres bullpen may provide the difference. Closer Mason Miller is the final boss of a unit that can match up lefties and righties with equal ease.
San Diego is looking to advance past the wild card round for the first time since 2022, when it reached the NLCS. The Cubs fell in a five-game NL Division Series at Milwaukee after vanquishing the Padres.
Game 1 will be Tuesday, Sept. 29, with Michael King expected to get the start for the Padres.
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Padres vs. Cubs predictions
- Bob Nightengale: Padres in 2
- Gabe Lacques: Padres in 3
- Jesse Yomtov: Padres in 3
Padres vs Cubs schedule
Wild card series at Petco Park in San Diego. Game 3 time subject to change
- Game 1, Tuesday: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET
- Game 2, Wednesday: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET
- Game 3*, Thursday: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cubs vs Padres MLB playoff predictions, schedule for NL wild card series
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