Chicago Cubs in the playoffs: Schedule set for NL wild-card round vs. San Diego Padres, tell me about this news in (https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/09/27/chicago-cubs-san-diego-padres-playoff-schedule/)
27-09-2026
The Chicago Cubs are heading to the postseason to face the San Diego Padres in the National League Wild Card Series.
Key details of the matchup and schedule:
Location and Seeding: The Padres secured the No. 4 seed after clinching home-field advantage with a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. As the No. 5 seed, the Cubs travel to San Diego, where the entire best-of-three series will be played at Petco Park.
Series Schedule:
Game 1: Tuesday, September 29, 2026 (10:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM PT)
Game 2: Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, October 1, 2026
Broadcast: Game 1 is scheduled for broadcast on Peacock and NBCSN.
Next Round: The winner of the series advances to the National League Division Series (NLDS) to take on the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers.
Context & History: This series marks a rematch of the previous year’s Wild Card matchup, where the Cubs defeated the Padres 2-1 at Wrigley Field. During the 2026 regular season, the Cubs held the upper hand against San Diego, winning five of their six head-to-head meetings.