Chicago Cubs vs San Diego Padres – Series Preview (April 25-27): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (12-9) lost their first series since the opening weekend of the season, dropping three of four games to the Dodgers at Wrigley Field this weekend. LA’s powerful lineup did a lot of damage via the home run and the Cubs simply weren’t able to keep up. The North Siders now look to bounce back against another NL West contender as the Padres come to town for three starting Tuesday.
A huge offseason had people pegging San Diego (12-12) to win the division, but they got off to a slow start in 2023. That appears to be changing after they just won three of four from Diamondbacks in Arizona, so it appears yet again that the battle for the West will go through SoCal.
The Padres’ loaded lineup has been surprisingly bad early with a team batting average of just .216 and a lowly .301 wOBA. Manny Machado and Juan Soto have both slumped badly in April, though new addition Xander Bogaerts has been excellent with five home runs and a .963 OPS.
The starting rotation has been uneven at best with Yu Darvish leading the way, but the Cubs won’t see their former ace in this series. Closer Josh Hader has been every bit as good as he was in Milwaukee, already collecting eight saves through the first 24 games of the season.
The Cubs have mostly held their own during a very difficult early season schedule and this will be another tough test before things lighten up a little bit. Winning this series would be another sign the Cubs are real contenders.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Tuesday, April 25 at 6:40pm CT on MLB Network (out of market only) and Marquee.
- Wednesday, April 26 at 6:40pm CT on MLB Network (out of market only) and Marquee.
- Thursday, April 27 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 4/25 | Justin Steele | 27 | L | 1.44 | 3-0 | 3.53 | 3.00 |
| Blake Snell | 30 | L | 6.00 | 0-3 | 6.05 | 1.62 | |
| 4/26 | Drew Smyly | 33 | L | 3.31 | 2-1 | 3.37 | 4.60 |
| Michael Wacha | 31 | R | 7.08 | 2-1 | 4.36 | 3.00 | |
| 4/27 | Hayden Wesneski | 25 | R | 6.23 | 1-1 | 6.15 | 1.71 |
| Seth Lugo | 33 | R | 2.78 | 2-1 | 2.80 | 3.83 |
What to Watch For
- Nico Hoerner has 10 hits in his last five games, including two home runs.
- Smyly is hoping to get on a roll after his nearly perfect start against the Dodgers.
- Wacha is 4-8 with a 6.50 ERA in 20 career appearances against the Cubs.
- Wesneski continues to struggle with his control early in 2023 and has basically stopped throwing his cutter after leaning on it heavily in 2022.