Cubs host the Padres in NL Wild Card Series Game 3

By: The Associated Press Posted: 3:02 AM CDT Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025

San Diego Padres (90-72, second in the NL West during the regular season) vs. Chicago Cubs (92-70, second in the NL Central during the regular season)

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San Diego Padres (90-72, second in the NL West during the regular season) vs. Chicago Cubs (92-70, second in the NL Central during the regular season)

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San Diego Padres (90-72, second in the NL West during the regular season) vs. Chicago Cubs (92-70, second in the NL Central during the regular season)

Chicago; Thursday, 5:08 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Padres: Yu Darvish (5-5, 5.37 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 68 strikeouts); Cubs: Jameson Taillon (11-7, 3.68 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 98 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs square off against the San Diego Padres on Thursday in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series. The series is tied 1-1, and the winner moves on to the NLDS.

Chicago has a 92-70 record overall and a 50-31 record in home games. Cubs hitters have a collective .320 on-base percentage, the 10th-best percentage in the majors.

San Diego has a 90-72 record overall and a 38-43 record in road games. The Padres have the seventh-best team batting average in MLB play at .252.

The matchup Thursday is the ninth time these teams meet this season. The season series is tied 4-4.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nico Hoerner has a .297 batting average to lead the Cubs, and has 29 doubles, four triples and seven home runs. Michael Busch is 11 for 33 with five home runs and nine RBIs over the past 10 games.

Manny Machado has 33 doubles, 27 home runs and 95 RBIs while hitting .275 for the Padres. Ryan O’Hearn is 16 for 36 with two doubles and a home run over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 5-5, .240 batting average, 3.07 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs

Padres: 8-2, .250 batting average, 2.27 ERA, outscored opponents by 27 runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Cade Horton: 15-Day IL (ribs), Owen Caissie: 7-Day IL (concussion), Ryan Brasier: 15-Day IL (groin), Miguel Amaya: 10-Day IL (ankle), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Padres: Ramon Laureano: 10-Day IL (finger), Nestor Cortes: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jason Adam: 15-Day IL (quadricep), Jhony Brito: 60-Day IL (forearm), Joe Musgrove: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.