Padres’ Wild Card opponent is set: It’s the Cubs, just like 1984
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SAN DIEGO – The Padres’ Wild Card Series matchup is set: It’s a 1984 rematch.
With the Dodgers’ victory on Thursday afternoon in Arizona, L.A. secured the National League West title. That means the Padres and Cubs will square off as the NL’s top two Wild Cards -- with home field still to be determined. Chicago holds the upper hand entering the season’s final weekend.
The Padres and Cubs have met once before in the postseason -- a memorable 1984 NL Championship Series, in which the Padres came back from a 2-0 deficit. That series featured Steve Garvey’s walk-off home run in Game 4 and the Padres’ late rally in a winner-take-all Game 5.
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This season, the two clubs split six games, all of which came in April. Both sides won two of three at their respective home parks.
The Padres haven’t formalized any playoff rotation plans, with manager Mike Shildt only noting that Nick Pivetta “will be set up for, most likely, Game 1.” That leaves Michael King, Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease and Randy Vásquez competing for the final two spots.
The winner of the series would almost certainly move on to face the Brewers, who can wrap up the NL’s top seed as soon as Thursday night.