Cubs vs. Padres 2025 Wild Card Series schedule, scores: Where to watch MLB playoff games, TV coverage

The best-of-three Wild Card Series begins Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cubs will host the San Diego Padres and the winner will advance to take on the Milwaukee Brewers, the National League’s No. 1 seed. Both the Cubs and Padres were the second-place finishers in their divisions (NL Central and NL West, respectively), hence their wild card positions.

You can check out the complete 2025 MLB playoff schedule and bracket. Below is the Wild Card Series schedule for the Cubs vs. Padres:

Where to watch Game 1

Date: Tuesday, Sept. 1 | Time: 3:08 p.m. ET
Location: Wrigley Field (Chicago)
TV channel: ABC | Live stream: Fubo (try for free)
Probable pitchers: TBA
Odds: CHI -123 | SDP +101 (via DraftKings)

Here now is what you need to know about each team in the Wild Card Series:

Wild Card Series storylines

Cubs: The Cubs are in the postseason for the first time since 2020, and for the first time in a full 162-game season since 2018. They have not won a playoff series since 2017. Chicago made a blockbuster trade for outfielder Kyle Tucker this past winter and has largely delivered, at least until finger and calf injuries sabotaged his second half. Tucker will be a free agent this coming offseason. A strong postseason would help the Cubbies and also serve him well come contract time. The Cubs will be without rookie Cade Horton through at least the NLDS because of a rib injury. He might have been their Game 1 starter this postseason otherwise. Chicago scored the fourth-most runs per game and allowed the eighth-fewest runs per game in 2025. The Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies were the only other teams to rank in the top eight of each.

Padres: This is the fourth postseason trip in six years for the Padres, who went to the playoffs five times in their first 50 seasons. They had a 2-1 series lead over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in last year’s NLDS, but did not score another run in the series, and were eliminated. This year’s team is built around run prevention. The Padres were middle of the pack in runs scored despite hitting the third-fewest home runs. Their bullpen, even with Jason Adam injured, is the best and deepest in the sport. Their path to success is scratching out a few runs early, then turning a lead over to Jeremiah Estrada, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, and closer Robert Suarez.