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Padres Lineup vs Cubs: Ramon Laureano Out, Manny Machado DH

The Padres are looking to win the series' rubber match.
Noah Camras|
Sep 3, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (13) celebrates with left fielder Ramon Laureano (5) after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images
Sep 3, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (13) celebrates with left fielder Ramon Laureano (5) after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images

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San Diego PadresChicago Cubs

The San Diego Padres are looking to win their series against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday afternoon.

The Padres won a wild series opener by a score of 9-7. Then, the Cubs took Tuesday's game, 8-3, setting up a rubber match on Wednesday at Petco Park.

The Padres have gone seven consecutive series without a series loss. They'll look to make it eight in their series finale against the Cubs.

Padres vs Cubs Pitching Matchup on Wednesday

Right-handed pitcher Matt Waldron is taking the mound for the Padres in his third start of the 2026 season.

Waldron has been a replacement in the rotation for the injured Nick Pivetta, and has struggled mightily over his two outings, sporting a 12.46 ERA across 8.2 innings of work.

Waldron has allowed six earned runs on eight hits in each of his starts. He could be running out of time to maintain a spot in the rotation with Griffin Canning nearing a return and Lucas Giolito due to debut by mid-May.

Opposite Waldron will be Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon, who has a 4.55 ERA across 27.2 innings this season. He has 25 strikeouts to 12 walks over his five starts, and has allowed seven home runs. Only five pitchers have allowed more homers.

Taillon has made three career starts at Petco Park, sporting a 3.45 ERA across 15.2 innings of work in those outings.

Padres Starting Lineup

  1. Jackson Merrill, CF
  2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
  3. Manny Machado, DH
  4. Xander Bogaerts, SS
  5. Ty France, 1B
  6. Miguel Andujar, 3B
  7. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
  8. Nick Castellanos, LF
  9. Luis Campusano, C

Machado returns to the lineup after exiting Monday's game before the seventh inning and missing Tuesday's game altogether due to a calf cramp.

Ramón Laureano is getting a day off, with Castellanos playing left field and Merrill leading off.

Gavin Sheets is out with France and Andujar getting starts.

How to Watch Padres vs Cubs on Wednesday

First pitch for San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, April 29 is 1:10 p.m. PT/4:10 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

The Padres announced that games will also be available via cable on the following channels:

  • Cox (Channel 83)
  • DirecTV (Channel 694-3)
  • AT&T Uverse (Channel 781 or 1781)
  • Spectrum (Channel 305 or 443)

Games will be broadcast on the radio on 97.3 The Fan (in English) and XEMO 860 (in Spanish).

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Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career. Noah is the publisher of Padres on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.

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