Back-to-back home runs from Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly were the difference Tuesday as the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 3-1 win in Game 1 of their Best of 3 Wild Card series against the San Diego Padres.
Matthew Boyd and four relievers combined to allow just the one run on four hits to push San Diego to the brink of elimination this afternoon in the Windy City.
Major League Baseball adopted the best-of-three format in 2022. Since then, the team winning Game 1 has won the series EVERY time. Winning two straight after losing the first would not seem to be so daunting, but it has proved to be just that.
It is an interesting matchup today as the Padres send Dylan Cease to the mound and the Cubs send Andrew Kittredge. Cease has appeared in 4 playoff games and started three in his career. He is 0-1 with a 12.91 ERA. Kittredge is a reliever with a short but solid postseason history with four appearances spanning 5.1 innings without allowing a run. The reliever’s fourth appearance was yesterday (1 IP, 0 Hits, 1 K).
Lets dive into the potential elimination game and see what the numbers tell us. Perhaps we will find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Padres at Cubs – Game 2
- Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2025
- Time: 3:08PM EST
- Site: Wrigley Field
- City: Chicago, IL
- Network/Streaming: ABC
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for Game 2 of the Padres and the Cubs
The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: San Diego Padres (-102), Chicago Cubs (-119)
- Spread: Padres -1.5 (+171)
- Total: 6.5 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Padres at Cubs – Game 2
- Pitching matchup for October 1, 2025: Dylan Cease vs. Andrew Kittredge
- Padres: Dylan Cease (8-12, 4.55 ERA)
Cease is 0-1 in 4 postseason starts with a 12.91 ERA allowing 11 earned runs over just 7.2 innings - Cubs: Andrew Kittredge (0-0, 3.40 ERA)
Kittredge threw a scoreless inning yesterday in Game 1 and will not be expected to go more than an inning or at best 2 innings today
- Padres: Dylan Cease (8-12, 4.55 ERA)
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Padres at Cubs
- Xander Bogaerts picked up 2 of San Diego’s 4 hits in Game 1 and drove in their only run
- Despite his postseason struggles, Dylan Cease enters the 2025 postseason pitching well allowing just one run in 3 of his last 4 starts spanning 22 innings
- Cease has struck out 32 over 26 innings in September
- Nico Hoerner picked up 2 of the Cubs 6 hits and drove in a run in Game 1
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for today’s Game 2 between the Padres and the Cubs
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Game 2 between the Padres and the Cubs:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the San Diego Padres at +1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 6.5.
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