CUBS LINEUP — Okay, here we go. The first Cubs playoff game in five years begins in just a few hours. Matthew Boyd is on the mound for the Cubs, following an incredible first season in Chicago (albeit with a weaker second half). And he’ll be squaring off against Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta, who just finished the best regular season of his career.
The Cubs are stronger at home, the Padres are weaker on the road (and against lefties like Boyd), but the pitching matchup (starter and relief corps) favors San Diego. It’s going to be a tough one, but getting the first win in a three-game series is incredibly important. Let’s do it, Cubs. Bring ’em down.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
Michael Busch, 1B Nico Hoerner, 2B Ian Happ, LF Kyle Tucker, DH Seiya Suzuki, RF Carson Kelly, C Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF Dansby Swanson, SS Matt Shaw, 3BCraig Counsell is not doing anything cute with the Cubs lineup today, and I appreciate that. The same group, in the same order, is what we’ll get.
Of course, for those of you who may have tuned out the final few weeks of the season, this “new normal” does feature a slightly different top of the order, including Nico Hoerner batting second, Ian Happ batting third, and Seiya Suzuki/PCA lower than you may remember.
Likewise, and as expected, Kyle Tucker (still nursing that calf strain) is the DH, and Seiya Suzuki is out in right field.
Carson Kelly is the man behind the plate, and the rookie, Matt Shaw, turns the lineup over.
This is the biggest game the Chicago Cubs have played in half a decade. And given the coming matchups and remaining home field advantage (plus, just … math), winning this game would be an ENORMOUS advantage in advancing to the next round. Let’s get it. Go Cubs.
(Much more on Matthew Boyd and Nick Pivetta below).
San Diego Padres Lineup:
TBAPitching Matchup:
Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd, LHP
In the first half (…first two-thirds, really) of the season, Matthew Boyd was untouchable. He carried a 2.20 ERA through his first 20 starts (118.2 IP) and became an All-Star for the first time in his career. And although Boyd didn’t necessarily excel at any ONE thing, he was just very, very good across the board with above-average marks in strikeout rate, walk rate, hard%, and AVG against.
For a good, long while, there was no other Cubs you’d rather hand the ball to in a game like this.
But then the innings caught up with him.
Because of various injuries, Boyd hadn’t topped 78.2 innings in a single season since 2019. But this year, he’s already up to 179.2 IP. And it seems to have hurt him quite a bit.
In his 11 starts since July 28, Boyd has earned a 5.16 ERA (4.63 FIP) with particularly meaningful drops in strikeout rate (18.2%), hard contact, and barrels. And until Cade Horton went down with an injury, Boyd wasn’t the obvious or first choice to start this game. But this is where we are, and we all know he still has the ABILITY to dominate. So that’s what we’re hoping for.
With that said, in a short series like this (and given Boyd’s numbers the second and third time through), don’t be surprised if Craig Counsell has an extra quick hook. Plenty of right-handed relievers capable of giving multiple innings in that bullpen. And in a short series, you can hold nothing back.
Some stray notes/thoughts:
Matthew Boyd’s last start was slightly better than the couple before that, with 5.1 innings of 2-run baseball against the still-contending (at the time) Mets. Matthew Boyd has faced the Padres twice so far this season, but both were all the way back in April, when he was fresh. Nonetheless, he has succeeded against this team before, so that’s a good sign. The first game was on April 5 in Chicago: 6.0 IP, 5H, 0ER, 1BB, 5K. The second game was on April 16 in San Diego: 5.1 IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 3K. Matching either one of those performances today would be a dream come true. For the season as a whole, the Padres have struggled more against left-handed pitchers (96 wRC+) than they have against right-handed pitchers (106 wRC+). But they improved upon that tremendously in the second half of the year: 106 wRC+ vs LHP. So I don’t know if that’s quite as big a boost as we had initially been thinking.With that last point said, the three Padres regulars who’ve done the most damage against lefties this season (Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, and Manny Machado) are each dealing with circumstances that favor the Cubs.
First and most importantly, Laureano is OUT with a right index finger fracture. That’s a lucky break (no pun intended) for the Cubs, as Laureano was carrying a 176 wRC+ over 54 PAs vs LHP this season. Although the rest of the Padres turned their season around vs LHP in the second half of the year, Manny Machado did not. After the All-Star break, Machado slashed just .208/.300/.321 vs southpaws, which equates to just a 72 wRC+. And while Ryan O’Hearn has crushed lefties this season (135 wRC+) and especially so in the second half (197 wRC+), he’s a lefty himself. And his splits are not the only splits that matter. Matthew Boyd vs RHH: .297 wOBA, Mathew Boyd vs LHH (.258 wOBA).As a final note, I’ll just mention that Matthew Boyd has been FAR better at Wrigley Field this season (2.51 ERA over 89.2 IP) than he has been on the road (3.90 ERA in 90.2 IP).
And it’s fair to surmise that wind, like the type we’ll see today, had something to do with that.
San Diego Padres: Nick Pivetta, RHP
Nick Pivetta had one heck of a first season in San Diego, earning a 2.87 ERA over 31 starts (181.2 IP). And while it’s true that his peripherals aren’t quite as strong (4.00 xERA, 3.49 FIP), they’re hardly anything close to bad … particularly that 26.4% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate.
One area of potential upside for the Cubs is that Pivetta allows a lot of hard contact (45%) and barrels (10.9%), as well as WAY more than his fair share of fly balls (47.9%). But with the wind blowing in today, I’m not sure that’s going to matter quite as much as we’d probably like.
Another limiting factor for the Cubs is that although Pivetta is a righty, he’s actually carrying reverse splits this season, which doesn’t bode well for a Cubs lineup with a lot of power coming from the left side (plus righties who also struggle more against right-handed pitchers). Bottom line, he’s just not an ideal matchup.
But to end on a positive note, neither of Pivetta’s final two starts (vs the Mets and Brewers) was all that impressive. He allowed 6ER combined over 10.1 IP, with his last outing, in particular, featuring a TON of wildness (5 walks). So take your walks, Cubs. And string some hits together. Because that dominant bullpen is waiting to pounce.
Broadcast Info:
Chicago Cubs (0-0) vs San Diego Padres (0-0) at 2:08 pm CT – ABC, 670 The Score
Cubs vs Padres – Key Injuries:
Chicago Cubs:
Owen Caissie, OF Miguel Amaya, C Ryan Brasier, RP Cade Horton, RHP Justin Steele, LHPSan Diego Padres:
Ramon Laureano, OF Jason Adam, RP Nestor Cortes, SP Joe Musgrove, SP Jhony Brito, RPCubs vs Padres – Wrigley Field Weather Report
Location: Chicago, ILTemperature: 79 degreesWind: Blowing in from center, weak with some moderate gusts
Today vs Padres: 77° ☀️ Wind blowing in from CF at 8mph? Gusts up to 12mph #Cubs #Weather
— Wrigley Winds (@WrigleyWinds) September 30, 2025Hence then, the article about chicago cubs lineup nl wild card game 1 at wrigley field was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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