After sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks in their three-game series over the weekend, the San Diego Padres finished the 2025 season with 90 wins to 72 losses. Since their first season in 1969, the Padres have never before had back-to-back seasons of at least 90 wins. This is only the second time in team history San Diego has gone to the postseason in back-to-back years.
The Padres reached the World Series for the first time in 1984 after beating the Chicago Cubs in a best-of-five series for the National
League Championship. The Cubs won the first two games in Chicago before the Padres won three straight at home to shock the Cubs. That was the only time the two teams have met in the postseason. It would not be a stretch to imagine the Cubs are out for retribution.
The series begins, Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 12 p.m. on ABC and 97.3 FM, the Padres flagship radio station. Game 2 will be Wednesday at the same time and the same channels.
Playoff rosters have to be set by Tuesday morning. Although the starting pitcher for Wednesday will be announced by noon, Monday, the full list of position players and pitchers is not due until hours before the first game.
Pitching matchups
Padres Manager, Mike Shildt, announced Sunday that Nick Pivetta will start Game 1 for the Friars. He has distinguished himself as the only consistent starter for the organization this season. Although the Game 2 starter has not been named, it is between Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish. Michael King pitched Saturday with a pitch limit of 49 pitches and Randy Vasquez pitched an inning of relief, Sunday. This seems to indicate that Vasquez will be a piggyback or relief pitcher, while King could serve as the swing man. Both Vasquez and King have relief experience, but Cease does not. It could be an interesting choice to have King follow Cease, Wednesday and Darvish start Thursday, if needed.
Whoever starts Wednesday, the bullpen should be assumed to be available at the first sign of a stumble. The high-leverage bullpen relievers got a tune-up Saturday and were rested Sunday versus the Dbacks. With two full days off, they will be available for both of the first two games.
The Cubs have not officially announced a starter for either game, but it is widely assumed that LHP’s Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga will be the starters for Chicago. RHP Cade Horton, the Cubs most effective starter, broke a rib and was placed on the IL Sept. 27. He will not be available for 15 days from that date, at least.
Bullpen options
Reliever Kyle Hart was sent out to Arizona when JP Sears was activated for Sunday’s game. Sears threw 113 pitches Sunday and is not an option for the Cubs series. With five starters on the playoff roster, the Padres can carry all of their usual bullpen arms against the Cubs.
Wandy Peralta, David Morgan, Bradgley Rodriguez and Yuki Matsui for middle relief with Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon, Mason Miller and Robert Suarez for their high-leverage arms.
Offensive decisions
The Padres starting lineup is at a disadvantage with the injury to Ramón Laureano. With two starting left-handed pitchers slated for the Cubs, the Padres have four left-handed and four right-handed hitters and then a choice between lefty Gavin Sheets or righty Bryce Johnson in left field.
There is no way to load the batting order with righties so the lefties will have to execute versus two tough left-handed pitchers. If the lineup can’t hit well against those two pitchers, their best hope is to outlast the starters and be more effective against the bullpen.
The best news is that Fernando Tatis Jr. has been a beast in the postseason. His 1.382 career OPS in the playoffs is far-and-away better than any other Padre. The other encouraging sign is the offensive surge over the month of September.
Their team batting average of .254 is ninth best in baseball. Their 33 home runs are 10th best as well as their 116 RBI. All of those numbers are a big improvement over the other months of the season. They are trending in the right direction.
With catcher Elias Diaz taking himself out of Saturday’s game after flinching and grabbing his left side following a swing, the Padres need a contingency plan.
Shildt indicated in his postgame presser Sunday that Luis Campusano arrived from Arizona and is accompanying the team to Chicago. As was reported by Dennis Lin of The Athletic, former Padre Martin Maldonado will join the team in Chicago as an emergency option.
Diaz expressed hope after his injury that he could be available for Tuesday’s game, since Nick Pivetta has pitched almost exclusively to Diaz this season, with only 1/3 of an inning with any other catcher.
We shouldn’t expect any major changes to the batting order for this series. Shildt has been consistent about his left/right preferences with his hitters. If Sheets begins in left field, there will be two lefties in a row somewhere in the lineup.
Right-handed hitter Johnson could get a start against one of the Cubs lefties, but Sheets has good numbers against lefties this year. Johnson has surprised many with his effectiveness this season. His .342/.383/.434 slash line with a .817 OPS in 76 at-bats is a fairly small sample size, but he was brought in for his speed and defensive skills. His offense is a plus.
In 1984 the Padres played the role of Cub Busters. We need those Cub Buster t-shirts again.
