The Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres will meet for the National League wild card series, with all three games being played at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs are the No. 4 seed in the NL and the Padres are the No. 5 seed, and the two teams matchup very evenly.
On Monday, both teams announced who will be the Game 1 starters on Tuesday to kickoff the series.
Cubs, Padres Game 1 Starters
The Padres will have Nick Pivetta start the all-important Game 1, and the Cubs will send their All-Star, Matthew Boyd, to the mound.
Pivetta has put together the best year of his career in his ninth year in the MLB, and first year with the Padres. The San Diego starter has a career 4.47 ERA, but he's put together a 2.87 ERA with a 0.985 WHIP.
This is the first season Pivetta has had a WHIP under one and an ERA under three. The veteran pitcher has pitched a career-high 181.2 innings and 190 strikeouts in 2025. Now, Pivetta will get the Game 1 start for the Padres.
The Cubs faced Nick Pivetta twice this season
— 🅱️🚂 (@blakecowellx) September 29, 2025
First start at Wrigley: 3IP 3ER 3ks
Second start at Petco: 6IP 1ER 6ks
Could Wrigley be the difference????
This will be third time Pivetta faces the Cubs in 2025. The Padres' starter gave up three runs on six hits across three innings, walked three batters and struck out four in his first start against the Cubs.
Then he rebounded with six innings of one-run baseball in their second matchup. Pivetta gave up four hits, a walk and struck out six batters in that matchup.
On the Cubs' side, Boyd was named to his first All-Star game this season. The Cubs' veteran is in his 11th year in the MLB, and has a 3.21 ERA on the year.
Boyd has a 1.091 WHIP in 2025 across 179.2 innings pitched. He's struck out 154 batters and earned a career-high 14 wins.
Matthew Boyd vs San Diego (2025)
— Chief Cub (@ChiefCub) September 29, 2025
11.1 IP
1.59 ERA
1.24 WHIP
17.0 K%
6.4 BB%
He gave up 11 hits:
• 10 1B
• 1 2B pic.twitter.com/YQuBdHGFG5
This will also be Boyd's third start against the Padres this year. The Cubs' starter pitched six shutout innings in their first matchup. He allowed five hits, a walk and struck out five batters.
In his second start, Boyd gave up two runs on six hits and two walks across 5.1 innings. The veteran starter had just three strikeouts in that start.
Now, the two starters will face off for the third and most important matchup of the season on Tuesday afternoon for Game 1 of the wild card series.