A postseason berth was clinched Thursday, but the Padres returned to Petco Park looking to secure home games for next week’s NL Wild Card Series.

The lineup for a 6:40 p.m. start against the Diamondbacks reflected that.

All the regulars are in the lineup, although the Padres are using the DH to at least get Manny Machado (.709 OPS) off his feet.

Home sweet home. pic.twitter.com/TfjBKPyROa

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 25, 2026

That will push Jake Cronenworth (.622 OPS) to third base for the fifth time this year and give Fernando Tatis Jr. (.828 OPS) his 50th start at second base.

Dustin Harris (.713 OPS) will start in right field and Samad Taylor (.821 OPS) will play left field.

“I think they’ve all showed up today, ready to go and ready to make that happen,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said of switching the focus to home-field advantage. “I think it was a goal of ours before we actually clinched the playoffs, to make that a home-field advantage for us. So the thought was already in their head. It wasn’t like a complete mind shift, but it’s good that we got to enjoy yesterday as we should.”

The Padres (89-70) can clinch home-field advantage as soon as tonight. The Cubs (88-73) were swept in a doubleheader in Boston and can’t reach 90 wins. The Phillies (87-73) lost at home to Tampa Bay, meaning they also will not be able to reach the 90 wins that the Padres can attain tonight.

The Diamondbacks (85-74) can still catch the Phillies in the race for the sixth seed. Here is how they will line up for Game 1 in San Diego:

There’s more work to be done. pic.twitter.com/t0mkLA8o3a

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 25, 2026

 

Friday’s pitching matchup

D-backs RHP Brandon Pfaadt (7-3, 3.72 ERA)

The Diamondbacks are 12-3 in his first starts (2.79 ERA) since returning from Triple-A in late June. Pfaadt has a 56-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio over those 90 ⅓ innings. That includes limiting the Padres to one unearned run in 11⅔ innings in a pair of Arizona wins.

Here is how Pfaadt has fared against current Padres:

Padres RHP Casey Mize (6-9, 3.96 ERA)

He’s got a 6.64 ERA in nine starts since the trade deadline, striking out 24 against 17 walks over 40⅔ innings. That includes a 7.27 ERA in four starts at Petco Park. Mize allowed a career-high eight runs in 3⅓ innings in his first start as a Padres against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. He discussed his between-start work and mindset for his regular-season finale in this story.

Here is how Mize has fared against current Diamondbacks: