CHICAGO — Playoff baseball is returning to Wrigley Field.

The Cubs will host the San Diego Padres in the best-of-three NL Wild Card Series at The Friendly Confines beginning Tuesday. Here’s all you need to know as the Cubs play in the postseason for the first time since 2020 and the first time in a full season since 2018.

[MORE: Five pressing Cubs questions as 2025 NL Wild Card Series vs. Padres nears]

Game times

Note: A one-hour version of “Cubs Live!” will air before every playoff game, with a one-hour edition of “Cubs Postgame Live!” to follow each contest, too.

Game 1: Tuesday, 2:08 p.m., ABC
Game 2: Wednesday, 2:08 p.m., ABC
Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, time TBD, ESPN family of networks

Rosters

The Cubs’ roster will reduce from the 28 they played with in September to 26 in October. Each team’s roster can have a maximum of 13 pitchers, and rosters can be reset after each round. Rosters for the wild-card round are due by 10 a.m. Tuesday.

[MORE: Cubs MLB playoff roster projection: Who’s in, who’s out of 26-player list]

Pitching matchups

Game 1: TBD vs. Padres RHP Nick Pivetta
Game 2: TBD vs. TBD
Game 3 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD

Scouting San Diego

The Padres finished second in the NL West with a 90-72 record, three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. They’ve reached the playoffs on the back of a dominant pitching staff that has a 3.63 ERA, the third-best mark in baseball.

Their rotation is anchored by Pivetta, their Game 1 starter, who had a 2.87 ERA in 31 starts (181.2 innings). The 32-year-old right-hander is having a career year in San Diego after signing a four-year, $55 million deal with the Padres in the offseason. His shortest outing of the year, though, came against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 5, when he allowed three runs on six hits in three innings as Chicago won 7-1.

Offensively, the Padres have been led by their two superstars, right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and third baseman Manny Machado. Tatis has an .814 OPS with 25 home runs, 32 stolen bases and 71 RBI this season. Machado has a team-leading 27 home runs and 95 RBI to go with a .795 OPS. Both players were All-Stars this season.

The real juggernaut of the Padres, though, is their bullpen. They can shorten games with the quartet of left-handers Wandy Peralta (3.14 ERA) and Adrián Morejón (2.08 ERA) and right-handers Jeremiah Estrada (3.45 ERA) and closer Robert Suarez (2.97 ERA). Suarez led the NL in saves (40) and, along with Morejón, participated in the Midsummer Classic.

The Padres did suffer two tough injuries down the stretch. Jason Adam – another key bullpen piece — underwent season-ending surgery in September, and veteran outfielder Ramón Laureano fractured a finger and will miss the wild-card series.

San Diego was dominant at its Petco Park home this year, posting a 52-29 (.642) record. However, home-field advantage could prove to be a major factor for the Cubs: On the road this season, the Padres went 38-43 (.469). Two of those losses came against the Cubs back in April at Wrigley.

MLB rules for playoffs

The pitch clock, introduced ahead of the 2023 season, will remain in place for the postseason. Pitchers will have 15 seconds between pitches with the bases empty and 18 seconds with runners on base. The defensive shift limits and the bigger bases will remain, too.

The biggest rule change for the postseason, though, comes in extra innings. If a game heads to the 10th inning, there will be no ghost runner on second base to begin the frame. The game will continue under previous rules if there is a tie after nine innings.

Managers receive a second challenge in the postseason. All challenges still will be reviewed by the Replay Command Center in New York, but Cubs manager Craig Counsell will be able to ask for another look more than once in a game.

Series format

The NL Wild Card Series is a best-of-three set, with all three games at Wrigley. If the Cubs advance, they’ll head to the best-of-five NL Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. In that round, the first two games would be in Milwaukee, the next two in Chicago, and Game 5 in Milwaukee, if necessary.

The NLCS and the World Series both are best-of-seven sets.

What could be next?

Here’s the schedule for the NLDS, NLCS and World Series:

NLDS

Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 4 at Milwaukee
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 6 at Milwaukee
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 8 at Chicago/San Diego
Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 9 at Chicago/San Diego*
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 11 at Milwaukee*

NLCS

Game 1: Monday, Oct. 13 at higher seed
Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 14 at higher seed
Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 16 at lower seed
Game 4: Friday, Oct. 17 at lower seed
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 18 at lower seed*
Game 6: Monday, Oct. 20 at higher seed*
Game 7: Tuesday, Oct. 21 at higher seed*

World Series

Game 1: Friday, Oct. 24 at higher seed
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 25 at higher seed
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 27 at lower seed
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 28 at lower seed
Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 29 at lower seed*
Game 6: Friday, Oct. 31 at higher seed*
Game 7: Saturday, Nov. 1 at higher seed*

* – if necessary