National League Wild Card

The San Diego Padres have secured the No. 4 seed in the National League and will host the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series. As the higher seed, San Diego earns home-field advantage for the best-of-three playoff round, with the series set to open at Petco Park as the MLB postseason gets underway.

The AL West division title and the final National League wild card spot are the key remaining prizes in the 2026 MLB playoff race, according to FOX Sports. With the postseason approaching, the latest standings leave both battles unresolved, keeping several teams' October hopes alive and making the final stretch of the regular season decisive for clubs chasing a playoff berth.

The San Diego Padres have locked up the No. 4 seed in the National League playoffs, securing home-field advantage for their Wild Card Series against the Chicago Cubs. The clinching comes as the MLB regular season winds down, with postseason seeding now largely settled. Fans in San Diego are anticipating playoff baseball at Petco Park, while the Cubs will open the series on the road.

The Chicago Cubs are headed to San Diego for a National League Wild Card series rematch against the Padres. Attention is turning to a head-to-head between Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Padres pitcher Carter Miller as a key storyline of the matchup, with fans anticipating a repeat of their previous playoff meeting.

The Chicago Cubs' playoff opponent is now set, and the team will approach its final regular-season game, Game 162, as preparation for the National League wild-card matchup against the San Diego Padres. Rather than simply resting players, the Cubs intend to treat the finale as a meaningful tune-up ahead of the postseason series. Fans are following the decision as the club finalizes its playoff plans.