The San Diego Padres are putting their first two Wild Card Series games in the hands of Michael King and Nick Pivetta. With King starting Tuesday’s opener against the Chicago Cubs, manager Craig Stammen is turning to Pivetta for Game 2 on Wednesday at Petco Park.

The decision gives San Diego consecutive right-handed starters to begin the best-of-three series. Pivetta also brings experience facing Chicago in the postseason after pitching against the Cubs during last year’s Wild Card matchup. This time, the Padres will have their home crowd behind him as they try to reverse the outcome of that series.

Getting Pivetta in this position is significant after an injury disrupted much of his season. He missed five months with a flexor strain before returning to give San Diego another option down the stretch. Now, his first start of this postseason could either give the Padres a chance to clinch or become essential to keeping their season alive.

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If the series reaches Game 3, Robbie Ray and Walker Buehler remain potential options. The Padres’ pitching choices are also shaped by their roster decisions: Casey Mize is unavailable because of an ankle injury, while Randy Vásquez was left off the Wild Card roster. Joe Musgrove made the WC roster but will work from the bullpen, adding another arm without taking one of the starting assignments.

Vásquez’s omission comes after he threw six innings in Sunday’s regular-season finale. The Padres can revisit their pitching mix if they advance, when a longer series would create different demands on the rotation.

For now, the immediate task belongs to King. A strong opener would put Pivetta in position to pitch for a series victory Wednesday and help Stammen preserve his bullpen options. The Padres have several pitchers capable of contributing, but their path past Chicago begins with the two right-handers at the front of the rotation.