\u2014 San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Dustin Harris (.713 OPS) will start in right field and Samad Taylor (.821 OPS) will play left field.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019ve all showed up today, ready to go and ready to make that happen,\u201d Padres manager Craig Stammen said of switching the focus to home-field advantage. \u201cI 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\u2019t like a complete mind shift, but it\u2019s good that we got to enjoy yesterday as we should.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n 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:<\/p>\n There’s more work to be done. pic.twitter.com\/t0mkLA8o3a<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s pitching matchup<\/p>\n D-backs RHP Brandon Pfaadt (7-3, 3.72 ERA)<\/p>\n 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 \u2153 innings. That includes limiting the Padres to one unearned run in 11\u2154 innings in a pair of Arizona wins.<\/p>\n Here is how Pfaadt has fared against current Padres:<\/p>\n Padres RHP Casey Mize (6-9, 3.96 ERA)<\/p>\n He\u2019s got a 6.64 ERA in nine starts since the trade deadline, striking out 24 against 17 walks over 40\u2154 innings. That includes a 7.27 ERA in four starts at Petco Park. Mize allowed a career-high eight runs in 3\u2153 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here is how Mize has fared against current Diamondbacks:<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pfaadt-pads.png\")
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