Padres' Mike Shildt Hints at Game 1 Starter for Wild Card Series

Nick Pivetta has been the Padres' best starting pitcher all season — in the aggregate, and on a per-inning basis. To not give him the ball in Game 1 of a best-of-three Wild Card series would amount to managerial malpractice.

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Padres manager Mike Shildt is but a manager. He is constitutionally incapable of spilling too many state secrets. Sunday is Pivetta's next turn in the rotation, and he has yet to announce who will pitch the Padres' 162nd game of the season.

Yu Darvish will start on Friday against the Diamondbacks. Michael King will start on Saturday. Shildt said they'll monitor and channel workloads accordingly to the team's plans for the playoffs. #Padres
— Annie Heilbrunn (@annieheilbrunn) September 24, 2025

This past Monday, Shildt hinted at the reason behind the not-so-subtle subterfuge.

Pivetta, he said, "will be set up for, most likely, Game 1."

Mike Shildt says Nick Pivetta "will be set up for, most likely, Game 1."
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) September 23, 2025

Don't be surprised if Shildt is more concrete in announcing his rotation plans soon. The Dodgers clinched the National League West title by beating the Diamondbacks on Thursday in Arizona, assuring the Padres of a Wild Card berth.

No team can catch the Padres in the race for the second Wild Card seed. They're effectively playing for home-field advantage in a best-of-three Wild Card series against the Cubs. Chicago (90-70) has a 2.5-game lead on the Padres (87-72) and would love nothing more to host that series at Wrigley Field.

We've got an NL Wild Card matchup!

The @Padres and @Cubs will square off in a best-of-3 series begining on Tues, Sept. 30.

The venue will be decided this weekend 👀 pic.twitter.com/jF2HdC0M1q
— MLB (@MLB) September 25, 2025

But the Padres are a significantly better team at home (49-29) than on the road (38-43). The Cubs (48-31 at home, 42-39 on the road) cannot say the same. The Padres' average home attendance at Petco Park (42,348) ranks second in MLB and undoubtedly makes for a hostile environment.

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The Padres hold the tiebreaker over the Cubs based on their intradivision records. If both teams finish 90-72, the Padres will host the series. Will either of those scenarios be in play going into the final day of the season? That's what it might take for Pivetta to start Game 162, not Game 1 of the Wild Card round.

On the other hand, the decision might already have been made. Pivetta is 13-5 with a 2.87 ERA (148 ERA+) in 31 starts. No other Padres starter has won more than eight games, or posted an ERA lower than 3.57.

Starting Michael King, Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish or Randy Vasquez might be rolling the dice too much for Shildt's liking. A full start by Pivetta on Sunday would also likely sideline him for the entire Wild Card round. Game 3, if necessary, is Thursday.

Pivetta has not started on three days' rest since 2023. Yet he's also had trouble in two career starts at Wrigley Field (0-2, 7.88 ERA), including a three-inning appearance there April 5 in which he allowed three runs.

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