Padres, Cubs Announce Starting Pitchers for Wild-Card Game 1 on Tuesday

The San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs are facing off in the 2026 wild-card series in a rematch of last year's wild-card matchup.

In 2025, the Cubs beat the Padres in three games. That series, however, was played at Wrigley Field.

This time around, the teams will be at the raucous Petco Park, where the Padres will look to reach the National League Division Series for the second time in three years. The winner of this series will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series.

On Monday, both teams officially announced their Game 1 starters.

Padres vs Cubs Starting Pitchers for Wild-Card Game 1

Padres RHP Michael King vs Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd

King, the undisputed ace of the Padres all year long, is taking the ball in Game 1.

The right-hander went 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA and 159 strikeouts over 185 innings this season. He was even better in the second half, going 6-3 with a 2.93 ERA and 67 strikeouts over 76.2 innings.

"He had a great season, and I think, number one, he would say he's been healthy throughout the whole season," Padres manager Craig Stammen said of King. "He's made every single start. I can't say that about our entire starting rotation. For that matter, he was really, really, really important to our team. He was able to stabilize our staff when it wasn't very stable.

"So Michael has been the guy we leaned on throughout the year, and we're going to continue to lean on him through the postseason."

King made one relief appearances against the Cubs in last year's wild-card series, striking out three across one scoreless inning in Game 3. In two postseason starts for the Padres in 2024, he allowed five runs over 12 innings with 15 strikeouts to one walk.

"I fully expect the same noise that I heard in '24 [in the playoffs at Petco Park]," King said. "I think that's why it's really important for us to get home field for the wild-card. It's a special place to play meaningful baseball games."

As for Boyd, he made 22 starts this season, sporting a 3.91 ERA across 126.2 innings with 96 strikeouts to 39 walks.

The left-hander faced the Padres in each of the two series the teams played this season.

On April 27, Boyd allowed five runs on eight hits over four innings in the Cubs' lone loss to the Padres this season. On June 30, he allowed three runs on eight hits over five innings with two strikeouts.

Boyd has made seven career appearances in the postseason, sporting a minuscule 1.66 ERA over 21.2 innings. He started Game 1 of last year's wild-card series against the Padres, allowing one run over 4.1 innings.

How to Watch Padres vs Cubs Wild-Card Game 1

First pitch for Game 1 on Tuesday, Sept. 29 is 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Peacock and NBCSN.

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