The Padres streak into October playing their best ball. They're even ready for the mighty Brewers

SAN DIEGO (AP) — After a slow and stuttering start to the season, the San Diego Padres tore through September with passion and poise. Every impressive thing they've done during their current 20-3 surge suggested they were determined to reach October as the most dangerous team in baseball.

October is finally here — and so is the best version of the Padres, as they demonstrated in their two-game destruction of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Wild Card Series.

The Padres are hitting, pitching and executing at a level rarely seen in a city that has never celebrated a World Series title, and this streaking group is eager to keep chasing San Diego's impossible dream.

“We feel great right now, but we're not done,” Manny Machado said Wednesday night after the Padres finished off the Cubs with a 4-1 victory in Game 2. “Winning games like these, it just makes you hungrier to win more.”

The MLB-leading Milwaukee Brewers are up next in the NL division series starting Saturday, but the Padres' clubhouse is full of players who clearly can't wait to test themselves against the best.

“It’s going to be (some) of the highest-level baseball games ever played, so we’re looking forward to it,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said between cigar puffs in the Padres’ booze-soaked clubhouse.

The Padres beat the Cubs by a combined 12-1 in a thorough two-game domination of their 89-win opponent. San Diego's vaunted pitching staff held the majors' highest-scoring offense to eight low-impact hits while the Padres racked up 21 hits of their own, including four homers.

But this is similar to what the Padres have been doing to the majority of their opponents ever since they turned around their season in the second half.

Despite a roster laden with tested veterans and young talent coming off four playoff appearances in the previous six years, the Padres needed four months to find their best form. They scuffled around .500 into the All-Star break and had a losing record on July 25.

And then San Diego got an enormous confidence boost from a three-game sweep of the Brewers at Petco in early August. The Padres eventually won their final seven series and finished with 91 victories, surging past the Cubs and the Phillies to claim the first wild-card berth and homefield advantage in the opening round.

That’s a big deal to the Padres, who won 51 games at Petco Park during the regular season in front of the fans who turn this downtown stadium into a lively party each night during the summer.

“At the beginning, it was tough — it was rough,” said Tatis, who finished with 25 homers despite inexplicably not hitting his first until June 1. “We were looking really ugly. I was looking really ugly. We decided to turn it around, and with this group, nothing is impossible.”

Even the improbable happens with regularity for the Padres these days.

For instance, Gavin Sheets stepped up to the plate on a plantar plate tear in his left foot in Game 2 and blasted a pinch-hit homer on his only swing of the Wild Card Series.

Sheets was determined not to miss the playoffs, and he fought his way back onto the Padres' roster on the last weekend of the regular season even though he probably isn't healthy enough to play defense in October. He got just one chance to contribute against the Cubs, and he set off a celebration.

Sheets said the Padres are glad they didn't have an opening-round bye. They wanted to keep their roll going — and this demolition of the Cubs only boosted San Diego's confidence in its ability to beat the best.

“I think you gain a lot of momentum from series like this,” Sheets said. “Obviously the Brewers are a 1 seed for a reason. They’re a great team. They’ve got great arms. We’ve played them strong all year, and we know what they offer. ... We’re going to start in Milwaukee, and it’s going to be just like here. It’s going to be rocking. But I think there’s some momentum that gets built when you play these two games.”

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San Diego Padres pitcher Mason Miller reacts after defeating the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado celebrates with teammates after defeating the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. celebrates with teammates after defeating the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France pours beer on second baseman Jake Cronenworth as they celebrate defeating the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado celebrates with teammates after defeating the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Rachel has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast as northern Mexico and parts of the U.S. Southwest were reeling from flooding and damage from the remnants of Hurricane Polo earlier this week.

The storm, located about 235 miles (380 kilometers) south off the southern tip of Baja California, was continuing west-northwest at 3 mph (6 kph) and expected to strengthen Friday before weakening this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The maximum sustained winds were 120 miles per hour (193 kph) as of Thursday evening. Rachel’s swells are expected to generate life-threatening surf and rip-current conditions off Mexico’s coast, the NHC warned.

Mexican authorities said Thursday they remain on alert because of forecasts of very heavy rain in the states of Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, and Jalisco, and the possibility of landslides, rising river levels, overflowing rivers and flooding in low-lying areas.

On Wednesday night, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico warned U.S. citizens in Cabos San Lucas, a popular vacation destination for Americans, of beach and port closures and deadly rip currents.

The Pacific has seen an unusually busy hurricane season, which experts have attributed to El Niño, which has fueled crippling droughts in Mexico and Central America and floods in other parts of the region. In the Pacific, it has resulted in warmer waters and wind patterns that act as fodder for hurricanes. Tropical Storm Nolo continued its northwest approach away from Hawaii on Thursday, though the National Weather Service said it could strengthen into a hurricane by the weekend.

Parts of northern Mexico were still reeling from floods and wider destruction left by Polo. Hundreds of people remained displaced or had their homes destroyed, and at least 13 municipalities remained flooded Thursday night, according to local authorities.

Lucía Vegas, who lives in the small town of Bacabachi in the border state of Sonora, said it was a miracle she survived severe flooding as it swept through her community. She, her husband and three children were left homeless.

Vegas said she and her family managed to survive thanks to their dog. In the middle of the night, as the floodwaters were rising, the dog woke her by shaking water off herself, giving the family enough time to climb a ladder onto the roof of their home just minutes before it was completely flooded.

“Right now, we have been left with nothing,” the 39-year-old woman said through tears.

Areas in Texas, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa were still under flood watch Thursday afternoon as storm remnants continued to batter the region, flooding streets and neighborhoods and setting off water rescues.

Wednesday was the wettest day on record for Lincoln, Nebraska, which received 6.1 inches of rainfall, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Climate Office.

In Omaha, which received 4.7 inches of rain Wednesday, the fire department said it responded to 80 water rescues over a three-hour period ending early Thursday. Some floodwaters reached depths of 8 feet. Schools remained open. But many buses never made it out of flooded parking lots, prompting officials to ask parents to transport their students to school.

San Antonio, Texas, was under a flash-flood warning through Thursday evening, and the city urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel. More than 19,000 residents across the state were without power Thursday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. Videos posted on social media showed floodwaters in Texas creating waves along Interstate 35 in Denton.

In Chicago, a wastewater treatment and stormwater management utility urged residents to conserve water use to prevent flooding and stormwater backup.

“We encourage everyone to conserve water when possible to create more capacity in our systems,” utility President Kari K. Steele said in a statement Wednesday.

In Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly issued an emergency proclamation on Wednesday ahead of the storms that allows state resources to assist first responders in hard-hit communities.

Raza reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Castellón reported from Bacabachi, Mexico. Associated Press writer John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, contributed to this report.

A vehicle navigates a flooded roadway as heavy rain move through the area, in San Antonio, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

People evacuate their homes as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Vehicles navigate on a road after torrential rains moved through the Phoenix metro area, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in Anthem, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Rachel in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via AP)

A man carries items through floodwater past downed electric lines after the passing of Hurricane Polo in Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)