The Padres appeared to be rolling when they carved through the Atlanta Braves and notched an easy win to start their last Petco Park series against the Dodgers.

Even when they dropped the final two games to the Dodgers, the Padres rightfully declared a 4-2 run against the class of the NL a good homestand.

Now?

Well, they’ve squandered all that momentum in a four-game skid that has them hoping to salvage their trip to Wrigley Field with at least one win.

Wednesday’s first pitch is at 11:20 a.m. on Padres.TV.

The NL West is a pipedream at this point as the Dodgers’ lead is now at 12 games.

More critically, the Padres (43-41) are two games out of the NL’s last wild-card spot, shared by the Cardinals (44-38) and Marlins (46-40).

The Padres finished June with an 11-15 record, their second straight losing month after a 13-15 May.

Facing their first right-handed starter in the series in Colin Rea, the Padres are loading Wednesday’s lineup with all their active left-handed hitters.

Closing out the series. pic.twitter.com/BNwFg3hrVv

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 1, 2026

Gavin Sheets (.778 OPS) will play left field and bat second, center fielder Jackson Merrill (.614 OPS) will bat fifth, second baseman Jake Cronenworth (.451 OPS) will bat seventh and Sung-Mun Song (.573 OPS) will bat ninth and play third base.

That means Manny Machado (.673 OPS) will get a half-day off as the designated hitter.

Here is how the Cubs (48-38), the NL’s top wild-card team, will line up as they look for a sweep:

1:20 at the Friendly Confines. 😌

Watch the game live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/leNYzyal6B

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 1, 2026

 

Wednesday’s pitching matchup

Padres RHP Walker Buehler (5-3, 3.81 ERA)

He’s allowed exactly one run in each of his last five starts (1.71 ERA), with the Padres going 4-1 in those games. Buehler has a 27-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his last 26⅓ innings. He allowed two runs in 4 ⅔ innings in a no-decision against the Cubs in late April. Buehler has a 4.46 ERA in eight games (seven starts) in his career against the Cubs.

Here’s how Buehler has fared against current Cubs:

Cubs RHP Colin Rea (5-5, 4.80 ERA)

The former Padre has allowed one run in 10⅓ innings following a 10-start slump (6.48 ERA). He last faced the Padres as a reliever in Game 2 of last year’s NL Wild Card Series (1⅔ IP, 0 ER) and has a 4.91 ERA in his two career starts against the Padres, the last in 2024 (5⅓ IP, 5 ER).

Here is how Rea has fared against current Padres: