The Chicago Cubs will face off against the San Diego Padres in their 2025 home opener at Wrigley Field Friday.

Two clubs on winning streaks — the San Diego Padres (seven straight) and the Chicago Cubs (three in a row) — play on Friday at 2:20 p.m. ET, at Wrigley Field.The Cubs are a home

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Diaz is absent from the lineup for Friday's game versus the Cubs, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports. It's a routine day off for Diaz, who is 3-for-13 at the dish in the early going this season. Martin Maldonado will catch and bat ninth for the Padres in Friday's series opener.

The San Diego Padres might have been the best team in baseball last October. We’ll never know for sure. There was the agonizing, 24-inning scoreless streak that ended their run. There was the quiet winter that ensued. There was the revelation of the family fight that has clouded their future.

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs open a three-game series at home against the San Diego Padres on Friday. Chicago had an 83-79 record overall and a 44-37 record at home last season. The Cubs scored 4.5 runs per game while giving up 4.1 in the 2024 season.

Dissecting what’s fueling San Diego’s 7-0 start Winning your first two series of the season is fantastic. SWEEPING your first two series of the season? That’s historic. The Padres did just that, starting the season 7-0 for the first time in franchise history.

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There have been other bad endings in October, even though there are rarely good ones for losing teams. The worst, of course, of all time, came for the Yankees in October of 2004, when they saw the Red