The San Diego Padres were terrific at Petco Park this season, going 52-29 on their way to an NL wild card. It was a different story on the road, where Manny Machado and company finished with a 38-43 record.
When it comes to any sort of explanation for the discrepancy, well, Machado has no idea.
“Can you please go find out the answer for me because I can’t answer that for you,” a smiling Machado said. “You’re going to have to go talk to someone else because I don’t even have that answer for you.”
Machado and the Padres are back on the road for the first round of the playoffs, beginning on Tuesday afternoon when they face Dansby Swanson and the Chicago Cubs in the opener of their best-of-three series.
The Padres got a refresher course in the mixture of sun and shade at Wrigley Field when they worked out Monday in a similar time slot to what they will experience in Game 1.
“There's not another ballpark, I would say, that can be any trickier than Wrigley,” manager Mike Shildt said. “We're aware of it.”
Chicago went 50-29 at its iconic ballpark this year, helping the team to the top NL wild card and home-field advantage for the first round of the postseason. The Cubs and Padres contributed to a 54.3 home winning percentage across the majors this year, the highest such number since it was 55.7% in 2020.
But the Cubs haven't won a home playoff game since the 2017 NL Championship Series. They were swept by Miami in the wild-card round at Wrigley in 2020 in the franchise's last postseason appearance.
“Wrigley already is incredibly special, and so I'm very excited to see what it looks like and what it feels like come postseason time,” Swanson said. “I know it's going to be kind of everything you ever dreamed of.”
Pitching plans
San Diego right-hander Nick Pivetta will face Chicago left-hander Matthew Boyd in Game 1. Dylan Cease will start for the Padres on Wednesday, and Shildt indicated Yu Darvish would get the ball for Game 3, if necessary. Cubs manager Craig Counsell declined to reveal his pitching plans beyond the series opener.
Pivetta and Boyd also matched up for two April games. Boyd pitched six scoreless innings in a 7-1 victory at Wrigley, and Pivetta tossed six innings of one-run ball in a 4-2 win at San Diego.
It was part of a breakout season for Pivetta, who went 13-5 with a career-low 2.87 ERA in 31 starts and a career-high 181 2/3 innings. He signed a $55 million, four-year contract with the Padres in February.
“I think it’s just going out believing in my talents, believing in what I’ve done this year and just going out and executing my game plan,” Pivetta said of starting Game 1, “and just relying on my teammates behind me to make defensive plays and to put up runs and to just go through it like it’s another night.”
Boyd went 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA in 31 starts in his first year with Chicago. He signed a $29 million, two-year deal with the Cubs in December.
Boyd's late grandfather, John, was a big Cubs fan, and the 34-year-old pitcher grew emotional while talking about what it meant to him to start a playoff game for the team.
“To think that I would have got this opportunity knowing everything about my grandfather growing up here, it’s cool, it’s cool stuff,” Boyd said. “He would be extremely happy.”
Catching up
Each team has a decision to make about an injured catcher. The rosters for the series are announced on Tuesday.
Elias Díaz left San Diego's 5-1 victory over Arizona on Saturday night with an oblique issue. The 34-year-old Díaz batted .204 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 106 games this year.
“He felt good today, did some pool work today and moved around a little bit,” Shildt said.
Miguel Amaya hasn't played for Chicago since he injured his left ankle on Aug. 13 at Toronto. He made four rehab appearances for Triple-A Iowa, including two starts behind the plate.
“I feel 100 percent to go,” Amaya said.
