Chicago Cubs vs San Diego Padres – Series Preview (June 29-July 1): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (46-38) just completed a highly successful road trip in which they went 6-1 against the Mets and Brewers. Taking two out of three in Milwaukee was especially impressive, considering they were facing the top three starters in the rotation with an injury-ravaged pitching staff of their own. Now they return to Wrigley for three against the Padres starting Monday.
San Diego (43-39) has had an up-and-down season so far in 2026. They were as much as 11 games over .500 at one point, but stumbled more than once since then. They started this week sweeping the Braves, who have suddenly gone cold, before losing two of three to the Dodgers.
It’s been a very difficult season for the Pads offensively, with an ugly .662 team OPS that is the worst in baseball by a wide margin. Fernando Tatís Jr. has hit only three home runs, but leads the team in hits and RBI. Manny Machado has 15 homers and pretty much nothing else with a .665 OPS and a .188 average that is the lowest in MLB among 154 qualified hitters. For what it’s worth, Dansby Swanson is next with his .190 average.
San Diego’s pitching has been a bit of a mixed bag, with the bullpen massively outperforming the starting rotation. The starting staff has a 4.54 ERA and Michael King has emerged as their ace; he’s also their only qualified pitcher. Walker Buehler has also had a nice bounce-back season after struggling for the past couple years.
The Padres bullpen has a 3.26 ERA, which is third best in MLB, and the star is obviously Mason Miller. The flame-throwing closer has 21 saves and a microscopic 0.79 ERA this season. Bradgley Rodriguez and Wandy Peralta have been tremendous in setup roles.
The Cubs won two of three when these two teams met at Petco Park in April. They are going to want to avoid being behind with San Diego’s killer relievers. Craig Counsell‘s squad has struggled recently at the Friendly Confines, but maybe they can build on this road success to keep the positive surge going.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Monday, June 29 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee.
- Tuesday, June 30 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee.
- Wednesday, July 1 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 6/29 | Shōta Imanaga | 32 | L | 4.40 | 5-6 | 4.87 | 3.83 |
| TBD | |||||||
| 6/30 | Matthew Boyd | 35 | L | 5.12 | 2-1 | 2.62 | 3.50 |
| JP Sears | 30 | L | 3.18 | 1-0 | 4.20 | 2.50 | |
| 7/1 | Colin Rea | 36 | R | 4.80 | 5-5 | 4.73 | 2.03 |
| Walker Buehler | 31 | R | 3.81 | 5-3 | 3.42 | 2.69 |
What to Watch For
- Seiya Suzuki had a big weekend against the Brewers with two homers and 6 RBI.
- The Cubs have gone 12-4 since they dropped to .500 in early June.
- Nico Hoerner had four hits in his last two games.
- Boyd looked pretty good in his first game back from a knee injury.
