The matchup has been all but official for days. Those who penciled in the San Diego Padres at the Chicago Cubs in the National League wild-card round on Tuesday can now jot it down in pen after Chicago clinched homefield advantage on Saturday.
“I’m stoked,” said San Diego reliever Mason Miller. “I can’t wait for it to get here.”
But before San Diego can make its third trip to Chicago this season — it lost two of three on the North Side in early April before winning two of three against the White Sox on the South Side last weekend — it has one more game left in the regular season as it hosts the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
Nothing is at stake here other than getting guys at-bats and innings and avoiding injuries like the one catcher Elias Diaz suffered in Saturday night’s 5-1 win. Diaz left during his fourth inning at-bat with an apparent oblique injury.
Manager Mike Shildt said Diaz is day-to-day and is optimistic it won’t be serious enough to knock him off the playoff roster.
“It looks like it’s mild,” Shildt said after the game. “I’m optimistic but also realistic, so we’ll see.”
Diaz is batting only .204 with nine homers and 29 RBI but has been the personal catcher for Nick Pivetta, the likely Game 1 starter against the Cubs who’s enjoyed a career year in his first season with San Diego.
The rest of the playoff rotation behind Pivetta is an open question. Shildt has not announced any rotation plans, saying Saturday, “Whoever’s been in our rotation that’s not going to start a game will be in the bullpen. I think they’ll be on the roster.”
JP Sears will get Sunday’s start, his first since giving up four earned runs in 4.1 innings of work against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 11.
While San Diego gets ready for the postseason, the Diamondbacks (80-81) will head for exit interviews next week. Before they do so, they’ll hope Brandon Pfaadt (13-8, 5.00) can get them to the .500 mark.
Pfaadt is coming off a no-decision on Tuesday night in Arizona’s 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing four hits and three runs over six innings with two walks and four strikeouts. Pfaadt owns two wins this year against the Padres, yielding just four runs in 13 2/3 innings.
Arizona was eliminated from playoff contention Friday night and fielded a lineup devoid of normal mainstays Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll on Saturday. Manager Torey Lovullo said both have played through injuries down the stretch.
“Their bodies are not 100 percent,” Lovullo said. “Corbin with a broken hand, playing through pain nobody else could understand. Ketel playing banged up, got hit on the foot and came back and I know his lower half is not 100 percent.”
One regular who is staying in there is shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, who’s aiming to finish a career season. Perdomo cracked his 20th homer in the fifth inning Saturday night and needs one RBI to hit 100 for the first time.
Perdomo’s previous career highs were 6 homers and 47 RBI, set in 2023. He can also reach 100 runs by scoring two on Sunday and has swiped a career-best 27 bases.
–Field Level Media
