The San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins will conclude their three-game series at Petco Park on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, with the Padres seeking a clean sweep to continue their surge in the NL West and the Marlins attempting to stop the bleeding after a string of road losses. The Padres come into the matchup at 31–22 and have played excellent baseball at home, compiling a 16–8 record at Petco thanks to a powerful lineup, consistent starting pitching, and a fundamentally sound defense that limits mistakes. Their offense, led by Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., continues to produce at a high level, with the Padres collectively hitting .266 as a team—ranking among the top offensive units in the league. Machado’s leadership and clutch hitting have helped the Padres stay consistent, while Tatis provides dynamic speed, power, and defensive range that elevates the team in multiple areas. Complementary contributions from players like Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth have added depth to the batting order, allowing San Diego to apply pressure in nearly every inning. On the mound, the Padres have been even more impressive, maintaining a 3.36 ERA as a staff with both the rotation and bullpen performing at a high level. Their bullpen, anchored by closer Robert Suarez and steady arms like Jason Adam, has been one of the best late-game units in the National League, capable of slamming the door in tight contests.

The Marlins, on the other hand, enter the series finale with a 21–31 record and just 8–17 on the road, plagued by inconsistency and a lack of depth on both sides of the ball. Miami has seen encouraging development from young hitters like Kyle Stowers, who leads the team with a .300 average and .528 slugging percentage, and Agustin Ramirez, who has added solid middle-of-the-order production. However, the offense as a whole has failed to find rhythm against higher-tier pitching, leading to prolonged scoring droughts that leave their starters with little margin for error. The Marlins’ pitching staff has struggled to cover innings, with starters often exiting before the sixth and the bullpen left exposed and overused—a recipe that has led to multiple late-inning collapses. Defensively, the team has made critical errors at inopportune times, turning winnable games into mounting losses, and the absence of veteran stability has been evident in their execution. From a betting perspective, San Diego has been favored in 28 games this season and won 17 (60.7%), while the Marlins have won just 17 of 45 games as underdogs (37.8%), reinforcing the disparity in form and expectations between these two clubs. With the Padres in position to assert dominance and the Marlins reeling from recent struggles, the advantage heavily favors San Diego, especially with home-field energy and momentum on their side. Wednesday’s matchup presents an opportunity for the Padres to stay hot, build separation in the standings, and continue asserting themselves as a top-tier NL contender, while Miami hopes to salvage pride, avoid a sweep, and identify flashes of hope in what’s shaping up to be a long season.