Padres, cubs resembling contenders for the National League: 5 take -out dishes of their series in San Diego

Two weeks ago, a series that seemed to be a clash of heavy goods vehicles of the National League turned out to be an unbalanced matter, while the Dodgers swept the brave to continue the start of the season and extend a miserable start for Atlanta.

This week, another confrontation of the national brand League has arrived, the Chicago Cubs visiting the Padres of San Diego, heated by red, and this time, the matches were up to the media threshing, offering an early litmus test for two contenders who already seem to be focused on the laser to reach October, even here in mid-April.

Here are five points to remember from the three game set to Petco Park, that the Padres won 2-1, the more what to watch for the two clubs.

Fernando Tatis Jr. no longer withdraws

Since Fernando Tatis Jr. missed the entire 2022 season due to an injury linked to a motorcycle accident followed by a suspension of 80 PED games, we wonder if and when we would see him return to the MVP caliber superstar in which he seemed once. Well, so far in 2025, it could happen: until Wednesday, Tatis ranks in the first three of the national league In circuits (6), the stolen bases (6), the average stick (0.348), WRC + (193) and FWAR (1.4). He dominated twice in the opening of the series and rolled in two points 4-2 victory on WednesdayIncluding the drawing of a promenade loaded with the basics to conclude a battle on 10 sides with the lifter of the Cubs Luke Little.

Tatis also did not succeed once on the three games against the Cubs, highlighting an intriguing element of his early success: he has considerably reduced the punchies. It is not as if Tatis was never at the levels of Joey Gallo, but he had a career withdrawal rate of 25% entering in 2025. So far this season, it has been removed in just 11.3% of the appearances on the plates, and it establishes more contact than ever.

If his Zero-Strikeout series against Cubs does not impress you, consider this: the sequence of seven Tatis games without withdrawal this season was the longest sequence of his career. This recalls the superb gains of Ronald Acuña Jr. in the discipline of the plate during its history in 2023, when it also entered the year with a rate of withdrawal of 25%, then reduced it to 11% on the way to a MVP price. Could a similar season be in store for Tatis? It certainly seems to have tend to this way.

Cubs will rattle with or without Matt Shaw

There were great expectations for the best hope Matt Shaw to have an immediate impact for the Cubs after having made the spring training team, but his recruit campaign took a difficult start, and he was opposed to Triple-A on Monday. It was not an entirely shocking decision given the extent to which he struggled: Shaw drew walks and made the exceptional occasional defensive game to the third goal, but he struck. did not suggest He became particularly unlucky. He just seemed outdated.

By discussing this decision, the manager Craig Counsell reiterated the long -term belief of the team to Shaw, and we will see him again at some point later this summer. But if we learned something from the first weeks, it is that this team will strike, that Shaw plays the heart of a recruited race of the year of the NL or to take its time to reset in Triple-A. Kyle Tucker fundamentally transformed this range in all ways that the Cubs could have hoped for and were the engine of an offense which ranks second in races per racing (5.90), fourth in Home Runs (27), first in interceptions (29) and fifth in WRC + (121). Although Chicago was outclassed in the 15-8 series, the Cubs declared the Padres 27-23 and gathered a lot of good strikes against one of the best bunch of baseball.

Beyond Tucker, Michael Busch seems to take another step forward, Seiya Suzuki suits his DH tasks every day, and Pete Crow-Armstrong finds his stride on the plate. Ian Happ and inby Swanson are really not yet in progress, which suggests an even higher ceiling for this group once these two have started to warm up. If Shaw can find his place in the big leagues later this summer and recover in the warm corner, it will certainly be one of the most dangerous alignments in the national league – no opponent will want to face in October.

The enclosure of mercury cubs is a concern

Cubs LEVERS LEVERS CLOSE 27th in the era, 28th in Whip and 22nd in FWAR through three weeks of play, a worrying reality for a club which prioritized the upgrade of the enclosure of the lifts during the offseason. But it should also be noted that the besieged unit intensified its time in two of their victories during last week: Sunday, when Colin Rea plus six lifts held the dodgers at two points To claim the seriesAnd on Tuesday, when five arms of enclosures were almost impeccable in relief from Shota Imanaga to secure A 10th round victory in San Diego.

Unfortunately, the sandwich, the projection on Tuesday was a total fusion of Nate Pearson and Eli Morgan Monday Behind Jameson Taillon and a disorderly Little effort on Wednesday, in which he walked four strikers during his beginnings of the season. This variance was also exposed when the paadres visited Chicago earlier this month lose the series.

With Justin Steele Need ending the end of season elbow surgery And Javier Assad always dates back to an oblique injury, the current rotation is not able to make all the lifting, and the enclosure of the lifts must intensify more coherently so as not to waste the tracks often offered by this high -end offense. There is talent in place to make it happen – Porter Hodge is mean, Ryan Pressly is a proven veteran, and do not sleep on the hard throws Julian Merryweather and Daniel Palencia – but Counsell must find the right mixture to count earlier.

Padres will not be undefeated at home, but can they make history?

On Tuesday, Chicago presented his first defeat to Petco Park in San Diego in 2025 on Tal Diego, ending a sequence of 11 -game home victories which was equal to the Fourth longer to start a season in the history of the MLB. The paadres quickly rebounded on Wednesday to win the series and push their home record to a remarkable 12-1. Because the so electric atmosphere of Petco Park has been since San Diego has risen to the status of competitor, the Padres have played better on the road in the last three seasons. But if the last few weeks are an indication, they could shake this trend in 2025 in a dramatically.

It is certainly difficult to expect San Diego to maintain his percentage of victory at home .923 for the entire season – which would be equivalent to a home record of 75-6 – but this hot start to his home list is worth keeping an eye on the best home records in the history of the League. Here are the best percentages of home victories in a single season since the calendar went to 162 games with extension in 1961 and how these teams completed in October:

1961 Yankees: 65-16 (.802%) – won the World Series
1975 Reds: 64-17 (.790%) – won the World Series
1998 Yankees: 62-19 (.765%) – won the World Series
1995 Indians: 54-18 (0.750%) – Lost World Series
1969 Orioles: 60-21 (.741%) – Lost World Series
2019 Astros: 60-21 (.741%) – Lost World Series
1977 Phillies: 60-21 (0.741%) – posted nlcs
1970 Orioles: 59-22 (.728%) – won the World Series
Dodgers 2019: 59-22 (0.728%) – Lost NLDS

We are far from discovering if this team from Padres 2025 will join this illustrious class. But if they can, the story suggests that a deep playoff race would follow.

The two teams will continue to be tested in the coming weeks

Freshly out of their swing of six games in southern California against the powerful Dodgers and Padres, a homestand of eight games awaits the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and the competition is not unleashed exactly. First of all, another formidable enemy of NL West arrives in the D-Backs, the team with which the Cubs divided four games to open the regular post-tokyo season and one with a program capable of corresponding the high power attack of Chicago. The Dodgers follow with a pair of games next week to finish their season series, then the Phillies come in town for three weekends next before the divisional game finally begins for Cubbies, with trips to Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. If the cubs are Always at the top of the central NL As the calendar turns to May, they will surely have won it.

Meanwhile, the Padres have an interesting series of interleague confrontations on the bridge: three in Houston, three in Detroit then back home for three against the Rays. These are three tough customers, all of which have stellar pitching employees who should be ready to correspond to the San Diego impact weapons stable in each series. Padres could seem to be the most complete team than Cubs at this stage, but following the rhythm in the NL West is a task in particular more intimidating than doing so in the mediocre central NL, so the coming road could prove more difficult for San Diego.

If we are lucky, this week will not be the last time that we will see these two teams compete in 2025. After a series of season in which the two teams won three games and the two teams scored 23 points, a revenge on the October scene only seems right.

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