San Diego has the best record of any club in baseball’s wild card round: four series wins from five appearances, all of them since 2020. The Padres have reached the postseason five times in six years, every time as a wild card entrant rather than a division champion.
Every Padres wild card appearance
| Year | Opponent | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | St. Louis Cardinals | Petco Park | Won 2–1 |
| 2022 | New York Mets | Citi Field | Won 2–1 |
| 2024 | Atlanta Braves | Petco Park | Won 2–0 |
| 2025 | Chicago Cubs | Wrigley Field | Lost 1–2 |
| 2026 | Chicago Cubs | Petco Park | Won 2–0 |
One of the four wins came on the road, at Citi Field in 2022, and three of the five series went to a deciding Game 3.
The 2026 series
San Diego finished 91–71 and clinched a postseason berth on September 24 with a 4–2 win at Los Angeles. As the No. 4 seed it hosted the No. 5 seed Chicago Cubs (89–73) in the round’s late window, 10 p.m. ET both nights.
| Date | Game | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Tue, Sep 29 | Game 1 | Padres 8, Cubs 0 |
| Wed, Sep 30 | Game 2 | Padres 4, Cubs 1 |
Game 1 was the largest postseason shutout in franchise history. San Diego hit three home runs, scored in five different innings, and its starter took a no-hitter into the seventh before a two-out single ended it. Game 2 was tighter: the Padres led 2–0, Chicago answered in the fourth, and a two-run home run in the bottom of the same inning restored the margin for good. The Cubs scored one run in the entire series.
San Diego advanced to the Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, who had finished 103–59 and taken a first-round bye.
Why the Padres keep landing here
Under the twelve-team format, the three best non-division winners in each league are seeded 4, 5 and 6, and seeds 3 through 6 play in the wild card round. A club that is consistently strong but finishes behind a dominant division rival lands in that bracket year after year — which is exactly the pattern San Diego’s recent seasons have followed. See the MLB wild card format for the seeding rules.
Sources: Wikipedia, “Wild Card Series” and “2026 National League Wild Card Series”; MLB.com, “How to watch the 2026 Wild Card Series on NBC and Peacock”.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How many wild card series have the Padres won?
Four of five, in 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2026, with their only defeat coming at Wrigley Field in 2025.
What was the score of the Padres' 2026 wild card games?
San Diego beat the Chicago Cubs 8–0 and 4–1 at Petco Park to sweep the series.
Have the Padres ever won their division to reach the round?
No. All five of their recent postseason appearances have come as a wild card entrant.