Cubs-Padres Wild Card Round Game 1 Matchup By The Numbers

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After a long 162-game grind, we're pretty much right back where we were one year ago. For the second consecutive season, the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres have ended up with the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in the National League, setting them up for a best-of-three clash in the Wild Card Round. And, just like last year, the winner will get the right to travel to Milwaukee to face the top-seeded Brewers.

The major difference this time around is that the Cubs will be the visiting team, with the Padres playing host. That doesn't mean too much for the North Siders (they went 43-38 away from the Friendly Confines this year), but it is a huge boon for the Friars, who went 51-30 at home compared to 40-41 on the road.

In Game 1, the Padres will send their ace, Michael King, to the mound. He's been a rock-solid No. 1 starter this year, recording a 3.21 ERA over 185 innings in the regular season. His ERA estimators are less favorable (4.40 xERA, 4.13 FIP) but still indicative of a pitcher who can shut down an opposing lineup when he's on.

He's a pretty unfamiliar opponent for the Cubs, who haven't seen him in the regular season since 2023 (when he was still with the Yankees). He tossed just one innings in last year's series, striking out the side in the middle of Game 3. Alex Bregman has routinely crushed King and will be a key part of the lineup on Tuesday night; in contrast, Michael Conforto has historically struggled in this matchup.

**Michael King vs. Chicago Cubs: Current Batters Table**
Rk	Player	B	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Michael Conforto	L	14	11	1	0	1	1	3	2	.091	.286	.364	.649
2	Alex Bregman	R	10	8	7	2	0	0	2	1	.875	.900	1.125	2.025
3	Gabriel Arias	R	3	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	.333	.333	.333	.667
4	Ian Happ	B	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
5	Tyrone Taylor	R	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000
6	Nico Hoerner	R	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000
7	Carson Kelly	R	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000
8	Seiya Suzuki	R	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000

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Opposite the right-hander will be Matthew Boyd, who is starting Game 1 of the Wild Card Round for the second consecutive year. He threw a tidy gem in that outing allowing just one run over 4 1/3 innings, though the Cubs' ace will have to overcome poor matchups with Manny Machado, Ty France, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Austin Hays in order to give his team a chance tonight.

**Matthew Boyd vs. San Diego Padres: Current Batters Table**
Rk	Player	B	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SF	HBP	GIDP
1	Xander Bogaerts	R	22	20	4	0	0	1	3	2	3	.200	.273	.350	.623	0	0	1
2	Manny Machado	R	20	19	9	4	0	1	5	0	3	.474	.450	.842	1.292	1	0	0
3	Ty France	R	13	10	4	1	0	0	3	1	1	.400	.538	.500	1.038	0	2	0
4	Fernando Tatis Jr.	R	12	12	3	0	0	1	2	0	2	.250	.250	.500	.750	0	0	0
5	Freddy Fermin	R	11	11	3	2	0	0	2	0	4	.273	.273	.455	.727	0	0	0
6	Jackson Merrill	L	9	9	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	.222	.222	.222	.444	0	0	0
7	Austin Hays	R	6	6	3	0	1	0	2	0	0	.500	.500	.833	1.333	0	0	0
8	Samad Taylor	R	5	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.400	.400	.400	.800	0	0	0
9	Jase Bowen	R	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0
10	Jake Cronenworth	L	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0

Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.

You can find a more comprehensive breakdown of this series as a whole -- and all the numbers behind the matchup -- over on our sister site, Padres Mission.

Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Round between the Cubs and Padres will begin tonight, September 29, at 9:00pm Central Standard Time.