Padres face Cubs in critical wild card series at Petco Park

The San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs are set to meet in the National League wild-card series, beginning tonight at Petco Park. The Padres enter this series with momentum, having finished the season strong with a 41-18 record after a challenging mid-season. Key players like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado each stepped up significantly in the second half, while the Cubs seek to regain an edge despite leading the teams' regular season matchups 5-1. The status of Cubs pitcher Kevin Gausman remains uncertain following a recent shoulder injury, while the Padres' pitching rotation aims to deliver length in initial games to assist their strong bullpen.

• 1:49 AMYahoo Sports — Padres vs Cubs series will come down to these 3 things