Padres and Cubs Set for Explosive Showdown: Which Sluggers Will Dominate Game 1?

Switching gears from football’s heartbreaks and triumphs straight into the electric buzz of the MLB playoffs—who else feels a twinge of excitement when the gridiron quiets and the diamond lights up? Today marks Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series pitting the Padres against the Cubs, a matchup dripping with intrigue and “what-ifs.” The Padres, cruising with a robust 90-72 record but stumbling away from home, are set to counter the Cubs’ resilient squad that’s clawed its way to the fourth seed despite key injuries. Nick Pivetta and Matthew Boyd on the mound? That’s a duel packed with stats, surprises, and a sprinkle of unpredictability that only postseason baseball can deliver. Will the Padres’ deep lineup finally crack under away game pressure, or can the Cubs’ slumbering bats awake just in time? Here’s to hoping Boyd doesn’t keep us biting our nails too hard… Care to dive deeper and catch all the nuances? LEARN MORE.

Padres vs. Cubs, Game 1, 3:00 ET

I’m a little sad to see the football schedule move on after yesterday. I put out three plays for us – the Dolphins and Jets to go over their total, which got there late in the game. However, we cashed a bit earlier as Justin Fields found the endzone on a scramble as I had hoped. Then the Bengals looked good on their opening drive, scoring three points, but they didn’t score again the rest of the game. That gave us a 3-0 night, but now we must switch to something amazing: the MLB Playoffs. Today we have the first game of a National League Wild Card Series between the Padres and the Cubs.

The Padres are the fifth seed in the playoffs, but they shouldn’t be looked at as anything less than any of the other competitors that made the playoffs. They are a deep team with some elite hitters and a strong rotation. There is a bit of a concern for them with the team being on the road. The Padres are 90-72 for the season, which puts them 18 games over, but they are five games under on the road. That means they were very dominant at home, but they struggled when they left San Diego. They also tend to struggle against left-handed pitching. Today they send out Nick Pivetta to the mound to try and steal the opening game of this three-game set. Pivetta went 13-5 for the season with a 2.87 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He also racked up 190 strikeouts, putting all of those numbers in the top-16 of the league. You really don’t hear much about him as an elite pitcher, but Pivetta has been very good for the Padres when available. The bad news for the Padres and Pivetta is that the team is very successful against him, hitting .302 against Pivetta. He also had an ERA a full run higher on the road than at home. He faced the Cubs twice this year and allowed four earned runs in nine innings. In his start against the Cubs at Wrigley, he allowed three earned runs on six hits over three innings.

The Cubs are the fourth seed, and that was actually the fourth-best record in the league. For a while during the season, it seemed like they were going to be the best team in the National League. Additionally, it looked like they were going to have a better record than some division winners, but it didn’t turn out that way. I do think it is a bit remarkable that the Cubs were able to remain as successful as they have been. Their three best hitters were all absent from any power, and somewhat to hitting in general, from basically July to September. Even in September they weren’t great, but they got a bit better. Kyle Tucker just returned from the injured list before the season ended, but he went just 1-for-11. The Cubs are without their best pitcher from this year as Cade Horton was injured in his last start. So, now, an already hobbled starting staff has to turn to Matthew Boyd. Boyd had a good year for sure, so I’m not trying to take anything away from him. He is 14-8 for the year with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Those numbers are all 15th or better in the league. His ERA at Wrigley this year was 2.51, so he clearly dominates at home, but he significantly struggled in August and September, giving up 30 runs over 56 innings. He only allowed 34 earned runs from March to the end of July. He was good against the Padres this season, allowing just two earned runs over 11.1 innings. His home start against them he allowed five hits and no runs over six innings.

I’d be a bit surprised to see this game go under the 6.5 total. I get that playoff games are typically a bit lower scoring, but the Cubs should be able to get three off of Pivetta, and the Padres could get to Boyd based on how he is pitching lately. The Cubs need him to be locked in if they want to win this series. He is familiar with this spot as he pitched three games, including 11.2 innings, and allowed just one earned run. I’m going to back the over in this one. I think the Cubs take it, but I’m not going to bet on this. Boyd is making me a bit nervous.

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