So, the Padres made it back to the MLB playoffs. That wasn’t too surprising considering the season they had.
What was surprising was the Jekyll-and-Hyde performance in the opening two games.
After suffering near the bottom of the National League standings for most of their existence since gaining an expansion franchise in 1969, the Padres have made post-season appearances a going concern recently.
The Friars (90-72) finished runner-up to the Los Angeles Dodgers (93-69) in the NL West Division standings this season and runner-up to the Chicago Cubs (92-70) in the wild card standings.
The Padres received the No. 5 seed in this year’s six-team NL wild card payoffs. The Pads have now made the playoffs in four of the past six years, pretty good consistency along with the Dodgers, who have made the MLB playoffs a home for themselves for a 13th consecutive time this year (winning World Series titles in 2020 and 2024).
The Padres never made the playoffs until 1984 when they advanced all the way to the World Series, finishing runner-up to the Detroit Tigers. They lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1996 divisional series before advancing to the World Series in 1998 with a runner-up finish to the New York Yankees.
The Friars lost to the Cardinals in the 2005 and 2006 divisional series. There was another long gap until 2020 when the locals finally solved the Cardinals in the wild card round before being swept by the Dodgers in the divisional round.
The Pads used that as a launch pad to electrify the region in 2022 by topping the New York Mets in the wild card round, eliminating the Dodgers in four games in the divisional round to advance to the NL championship series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Fans had large screen television monitors on display at garage parties, but the party belonged to the Phillies with a 4-1 series victory.
The Friars swept the visiting Atlanta Braves in two games to win last year’s wild card round but fell 3-2 in games to the Dodgers in the divisional round. It was a close call against a Los Angeles team on its way to a World Series championship.
The Cubs finished behind the Central Division leading Milwaukee Brewers (97-65) to receive the No. 4 playoff seed.
The Padres-Cubs playoff winner will face the No. 1 Brewers in the divisional round, which starts Saturday.
The NL East leading Phillies (96-66) earned the No. 2 playoff seed and a bye in the wild card round along with the Brewers.
The Dodgers hosted the sixth-seeded Cincinnati Reds (83-79), with the winner advancing to face the Phillies. Three teams from the NL Central made this year’s playoffs: the Brewers, Cubs and Reds.
The Dodgers doubled up the Reds, 10-5, on Tuesday and eliminated them, 8-4, on Wednesday. Sounds all too familiar.
The American League playoff seeds include the No. 1 Toronto Blue Jays, No. 2 Seattle Mariners, No. 3 Cleveland Guardians, No. 4 New York Yankees, No. 5 Boston Red Sox and No 6 Detroit Tigers.
Wild card matchups include the Yankees against the Red Sox and Guardians against the Tigers.
Toronto (94-68) and Seattle (90-72) both have byes.
Detroit pulled the first upset in the wild card round with a 2-1 win over Cleveland on Tuesday while the Red Sox followed with a 3-1 win over New York.
The Padres captured two games from the Brewers in the teams’ three-game series Sept. 22-24 at Petco Park, including an 11-inning thriller in the opener.
But all that might have been for naught if Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Cubs in Game 1 of the teams’ best-of-three wild card series was any indicator.
The Padres took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Jackson Merrill scored on a RBI double by Xander Bogaerts. The Cubs responded with back-to-back home runs to left center in the bottom of the fifth inning as Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly each blasted solo shots.
Nick Pivetta got the start for the Padres while Matthew Boyd took the hill for the Cubs. Both starters left the game before its conclusion. Adrian Morejon relieved Pivetta in the sixth inning while Daniel Palencia (fifth inning) and Drew Pomeranz (seventh inning) took over for Boyd.
The four Padres pitchers struck out 13 batters, but the five Cubs pitchers limited the Pads to four hits.
The Cubs added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning to go up 3-1 on a RBI by Nico Hoerner to bring in Dansby Swanson, who had led off the frame with a single.
Brad Keller closed out the game for Chicago in the ninth inning, striking out Bogaerts for the final out.
Game 2 on Wednesday was a complete turnaround for the Friars as they evened the series with a clutch 3-0 win behind a four-hitter by four pitchers and Manny Machado’s two-run home run.
The Padres never trailed in the must-win contest. With Fernando Tatis Jr. on third base and Luis Arraez on second base in the top of the first inning, Merrill delivered with a sacrificed fly for a 1-0 lead.
With Tatis on second base in the top of the fifth inning, Machado, who was held hitless in Game 1, unleashed a blast to push the Pads to a 3-0 lead.
The Friars logged 11 strikeouts in the return match-up. Starter Dylan Cease had five strikeouts in 3.2 innings while Mason Miller followed with five strikeouts in 1.2 frames.
The series is to be decided on Thursday with no room for error for either team. Game time is 2 p.m. PT on ESPN. For those fans who want to be part of the event, the Padres are showing the game on a 75-foot screen at Gallagher Square at Petco Park. Admission is $5 and benefits the Padres Foundation.
Fan appeal
Longtime Padres fans, and even new-found aficionados, have been following the team on streaming services all throughout the 2025 season. It’s fun to root from your patio chair, after all, with all the conveniences of home at your fingertips.
Paradise Hills’ resident Lupe Lucero was glued to the monitor for the opening two games of the wild card series and plans to be watching again on Thursday — win or lose.
“It’s been a hell of a ride again, that’s it in a nutshell,” she offered after Wednesday’s nerve-racking win. “All so well worth it but it’s been tough going through the high and lows. Especially the lows when we all know they’re better than that and it’s mind-boggling when they’re not. Sometimes I wish we, the fans, could give them some advice, seriously!!! So, here we are again. I rang my bell all the way to the front yard and praying Il’l do the dame tomorrow. LFGSD.”
MLB Wild Card Scoreboard
National League
Tuesday, Sept. 30
Chicago 3, San Diego 1
Los Angeles 10, Cincinnati 5
Wednesday, Oct. 1
San Diego 3, Chicago 0
Los Angeles 8, Cincinnati 4
Thursday, Oct. 2
Chicago 3, San Diego 1
American League
Tuesday, Sept. 30
Detroit 2, Cleveland 1
Boston 3, New York 1
Wednesday, Oct. 1
Cleveland 6, Detroit 1
Yankees 4, Boston 3
Thursday, Oct. 2
Detroit 6, Cleveland 3
Boston at New York
Padres Postscript
Thursday’s series finale didn’t start in the Padres’ favor as the Cubs took an early 2-0 lead.
Both runs were scored in the second inning as Chicago knocked out San Diego starter Yu Darvish.
The opening frame between the teams was scoreless but the Cubs loaded the bases to start the second inning. That prompted Darvish’s exit and far too early entrance of reliever Jeremiah Estrada. Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki scored runs. To add insult to injury, the Padres walked in a run for a 2-0 deficit.
Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson were credited with RBI for the Cubs.
Jameson Taillon started for Chicago, holding the Padres to one hit through three innings.
The Padres generated four hits through five innings in a catch-up bid but no runs. Through five complete innings, the Cubs had battered the Friars pitching crew for eight hits but no more runs since the second inning.
Michael King and Wandy Peralta relieved Estrada while Caleb Theilbar and Daniel Placencia took over for Taillon as Chicago attempted to manage their pitching fortunes for the remainder of the game.
The Pads had their own pitching formula in place. San Diego closer Robert Suarez entered the game in the sixth inning, ready if his team could tie or take the lead. The Cubs greeted Suarez with two hits in the inning but, luckily, the Friars escaped without further falling behind.
That wasn’t the case in the seventh inning as Chicago managed to push across a key insurance run to take a 3-0 lead and a stranglehold on the deciding game.
The Padres’ inability to hit harkened back their inability to score runs in Game 1.
The Friars eventually pushed across a run in the top of the ninth inning and had a runner thrown out at the plate. But it was a matter of too little, too late.
Chicago out-hit San Diego 13-7.
Jackson Merrill accounted for the Pads’ lone run on a home run. Merrill and catcher Freddy Fermin each had two hits in the game.
San Diego trotted out seven pitchers to the hill, six of which pitched just one inning. The ensemble compiled 11 strikeouts. Darvish and Suarez each game up four hits in their one inning or work. King had three strikeouts while Estrada, Suarez and David Morgan each fanned two batters.
Michael Busch homered for Chicago. Busch and Crow-Armstrong each had three hits while Kyle Tucker and Carson Kelly each had two hits.
The Cubs utilized the services to six pitchers to keep the Padres down. Taillon pitched four innings with four strikeouts and two hits allowed. Brad Keller later had two strikeouts in 1.1 innings of relief work. Keller gave up the home run.
The disastrous second inning proved to be the difference in the game for the visitors.
All in all, it was a good season for the Padres, but it could have had a better ending.
The Cubs will take on the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers in Saturday’s opener of the NL divisional series. The other half of the NL divisionals features the NL West champion Dodgers against the NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies.
Detroit upset Cleveland in one half of the AL wild card series.
Lupe Lucero Padres memorabilia collection
