For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

We haven’t quite gotten to that point with the Cubs, but after turning heads with a 10-game winning streak, the club has lost its last three heading into tonight’s matchup with the Padres. Let’s not short change San Diego, either, as the team has already had an eight-game winning streak of its own. It’s a huge reason why the Padres are 19-9 and currently sit with the third-best record in the National League.

Could these two squads be on a collision course for another postseason meeting? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and simply preview tonight’s tilt with a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.

Cubs vs. Padres prediction, preview

With Cade Horton (elbow) and Justin Steele (elbow) on the IL, there’s some much pressure on Edward Cabrera to be a front-end of the rotation arm for Chicago. Thankfully, his introduction to Cubs fans has been relatively smooth. Across five starts and 29.2 innings, Cabrera has pitched to a 2.73 ERA and a 3.63 FIP. Still, I’d be lying if I said that the RHP’s path to those numbers wasn’t a little awkward. Whereas Cabrera sported 87th percentile fastball velocity (96.9) and a 74th percentile strikeout rate (25.8%) in 2025, those figures have fallen to the 72nd percentile and the 28th percentile, respectfully, so far in 2026. What would be a career-high 10.5% opponent barrel rate also isn’t a great sign when projecting forward with the 28-year-old.

With all that said, the Padres might not be the team to take advantage of these early-season flaws. San Diego has been league-average in a run production sense to begin 2026, entering Tuesday’s action with a 101 wRC+. However, much of that success has been based in the performances of Gavin Sheets, Luis Campusano and Ty France, and your milage may understandably vary with that trio’s longevity. The stars have not shined brightly for the Padres. Fernando Tatis Jr. has yet to hit a home run in his 123 plate appearances. Jackson Merrill is hitting .213 with a 79 wRC+. Manny Machado’s .334 expected wOBA is the lowest mark of his career. I guess you could argue that San Diego is 10 games above .500 without serious contributions from these men, so the team’s ceiling is quite high if they turn things around. At the same time, you’d like to see so much more from Merrill, Tatis Jr. and Machado — and you’d like to see it quickly.

Heck, there’s a decent chance the club will need the some real run support tonight with Walker Buehler on the mound. Buehler hasn’t been a disaster for the Padres through five starts — especially if you remove one rough outing at Coors Field — but the 31-year-old just is what he is at this point in his career. Buehler’s fastball velocity continues to drop, and since the start of 2024, his 5.16 ERA is the ninth-highest mark among the 129 pitchers with at least 200 innings thrown. The Cubs rank second in the league in wRC+ (121) and third in the league in wOBA (.347). They should have little issue putting together some crooked numbers against this version of Buehler.

Cubs vs. Padres pick, best bet

Best Bet: Cubs ML (-118)

Chicago has the better lineup by wRC+ and the better starting pitcher taking the mound. Let’s not overthink this.

Strong Lean: Ian Happ 2+ Total Bases (+166)

Happ’s always stronger when facing a which should play well in a matchup with Buehler. The 56 LHBs that Buehler has faced this season have combined to slash .340/.411/.420 with a .376 wOBA.