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With the Los Angeles Dodger clinching the National League West title on Thursday night, the Chicago Cubs now know they will be playing the San Diego Padres in the National League Wild Card round next week. The series will start next Tuesday, but as the Cubs get to set to face the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend, there still is the matter of where the series will be played.
Entering this weekend, the Cubs have 2-game advantage over the Padres for the No. 4 seed. As of now, the Cubs have the better intra-divisional record than the Padres, meaning they would hold the tiebreaker, considering the two teams split their season series. That said, each team is playing a divisional opponent this weekend, so that could change by Sunday. The only way the Cubs can clinch the No. 4 seed on Friday would be with a win and a Padres' loss on Friday night.
As a reminder, securing the No. 4 seed means that the games next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday would all be played at Wrigley Field. Considering the Padres are 38-43 on the road this season, the Cubs hosting the Wild Card round would be a crucial advantage.
Cubs now know who stands in their way in Wild Card showdown
Like the Cubs, the Padres are playing a divisional rival to end the regular season. The Padres will be hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. While the Diamondbacks were sellers at the MLB trade deadline, they have remained competitive, entering the final weekend of play with a record of 80-79. The two teams have split the first 10 games they've played against each other this season.
If the Cubs advanced beyond the Padres in the National League Wild Card round, a series against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS would likely be waiting for them. The Brewers are on track to end the season with the best record in the National League, but the silver lining for the Cubs is that they had a record of 7-6 against their rival this season.