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The Chicago Cubs will be traveling to San Diego after their game against the Boston Red Sox, and will face the Padres in the NL Wild Card round. Ahead of the final day of the regular season, Major League Baseball has revealed the schedule for the first two days of the Wild Card rounds.
Cubs, Padres draw the latest time slot possible for the NL Wild Card series
Given that the Cubs will be San Diego, conventional wisdom pointed to their series against the Padres getting the latest time slot on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sure enough, Games 1 and 2 will be at 9:00 pm CDT. If a Game 3 is needed, Major League Baseball will likely reveal the start time on Wednesday, depending on how many other series will need to be concluded on Thursday.
Entering the final day of the regular season, the Cubs were 42-38 on the road this season. They faced the Padres in San Diego in April, and took two of three against their NL Wild Card counterpart.
Cubs add former Cincinnati Reds top pitching prospect Julian Aguiar as lates reclamation project
Never turning down an opportunity to add a reclamation project, the Cubs have claimed former Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Julian Aguiar off waivers and optioned him to the instructional league. To make room for Aguiar on the 40-man roster, the Cubs designated Antoine Kelly for assignment.
Aguiar is pre-abritration, and under control through the 2030 season. He was once a Top-15 prospect in Cincinnati's system, but only made eight appearances with the Cubs' NL Central rival since the start of the 2024 season. If nothing else, this is an opportunity for the Cubs to have full offseason to work with a pitching that previously had a high upside.
Shota Imanaga making Sunday starts puts Cubs in uncomfortable Game 1 reality for playoffs
Unless there's a last-minute change, the plan remains for Shota Imanaga to start later today against the Boston Red Sox. Assuming he does, that would rule him out as a possible Game 1 starter on Tuesday against the Padres.
With Clay Holmes starting this past Friday, the two viable options appear to be Kevin Gausman or Matthew Boyd. Gausman is dealing with shoulder discomfort, and while there remains hope he can pitch later this week, nothing has been confirmed. That could mean Matthew Boyd will be the Game 1 starter for the Cubs, as we was against the Padres last October.
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