SAN DIEGO -- The 2025 Padres season just sort of … fizzled out.
They struggled down the stretch, then arrived in Chicago for the National League Wild Card Series and lost to the Cubs in three games.
Time for a rematch. Only this time, it’s in San Diego, and no matter the result this time around, the vibes are different.
“That was last year,” said Fernando Tatis, Jr., who struggled in the 2025 NL Wild Card Series. “I don’t really go back to that. This year’s a brand new opportunity. We better take advantage of that. We better make it count.”
The Padres have been the hottest team in baseball for more than two months, finishing with a 41-18 flourish to secure home-field advantage in the Wild Card Series. There’s a feeling around the club that this year’s Wild Card Series should be -- and will be -- different.
Here are a few reasons to believe that might be true:
1. The games are at Petco Park
First, a word of caution. Since the six-teams-in-each-league playoff format went into effect for the 2022 postseason, there have been 16 Wild Card Series. The road team has won nine of them.
So, generally speaking -- in a relatively small sample -- home-field advantage hasn’t been all that significant.
But, with these teams, it might be. Wrigley Field is Wrigley Field, with all of its iconic quirks and nuances. The Cubs seemed to thrive in that environment last October, while the Padres, particularly their offense, struggled.
Now, the scene shifts to Petco Park. The Padres (91-71) finished 20 games above .500 this season. They were 21 games above .500 at home. San Diego has come to expect raucous postseason environments, and after being deprived of home games last year, the crowds this week ought to be rabid.
The Padres swept the Braves in the 2024 Wild Card Series, and Game 1 starter Michael King (who also started Game 1 of that series) recalled the impact of the home crowd.
“That’s why it was really important for us to get home-field for the Wild Card,” King said. “It’s a special place to play meaningful baseball games.”
2. These Padres are mashing
A year ago, the Padres entered the postseason with a middling offense, having only just lost Ramón Laureano to injury. They went on to score a grand total of five runs across the three-game set against the Cubs.
This year feels different. The Padres welcomed Gavin Sheets back from injury over the weekend. Tatis, Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado have come to life down the stretch. They’ve gotten major contributions from Dustin Harris, Samad Taylor and a handful of other fringe players.
The result? According to wRC+ (an all-encompassing hitting metric), the Padres had the best offense in baseball during the month of September, and it wasn’t especially close. Their 127 mark was six points higher than the Dodgers in second.
The Padres offense is clicking, precisely when it needs to be clicking -- a stark contrast to last season.
“We have built great momentum toward the playoffs,” Tatis said. “But now, the important thing is to translate that to the next series and move forward after that.”
3. A fresher roster
“The goal of every season is that you get better as the season goes,” said first-year manager Craig Stammen. “There are peaks and valleys throughout. But you want to be trending in the right direction in the end.”
Stammen managed with that mindset throughout the summer. A year ago, Machado didn’t receive his first rest day until mid-September. This year, he got one in early April. Machado wasn’t the only one. Stammen regularly rotated his veterans out of the lineup early in the year (sometimes drawing the ire of fans for doing so). But he always kept the big picture in mind.
The same held true of his bullpen usage. There were nights Stammen could’ve gone ultra-aggressive with Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon, but he showed more restraint than you’d probably expect from a manager with those kinds of weapons at his disposal. He was playing the long game.
Now, it’s October, and the relief aces at the back end of the Padres’ bullpen are ready to be turned loose. The rotation is fresher, and the offense is clicking.
That’s a huge distinction from last year.
“We weren’t hitting or pitching very well,” King said. “It was a good time for them to see us then. We have a totally different outlook on this series.”