The Cubs and Padres have met twice in the MLB postseason and split the series: San Diego won the 1984 NLCS after trailing two games to none, and Chicago won the 2025 Wild Card Series in three games at Wrigley Field. The 2026 Wild Card Series, a rematch starting Tuesday night at Petco Park, is the rubber match. The chart below covers every series.
1984: The Series Cubs Fans Still Talk About
The 1984 Cubs, in the playoffs for the first time since 1945, won the first two games at Wrigley by a combined 17 to 2. The Padres then won three straight at home: Steve Garvey’s ninth inning homer won Game 4, and in Game 5 a Tim Flannery grounder went through first baseman Leon Durham’s legs to tie the game before San Diego pulled away. The Padres went to their first World Series; the Cubs would not win a pennant until 2016.
The 2026 Series
The No. 4 seed Padres host the No. 5 Cubs with every game in San Diego. Michael King, 12 and 10 with a 3.21 ERA, starts Game 1 for the Padres against Matthew Boyd, who allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings in Game 1 of last year’s series. Details, times and live scores are on our Cubs vs. Padres series page.
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Series results are from MLB.com.