The San Diego Padres wasted no time putting the Chicago Cubs on their heels Tuesday night, rolling to an 8-0 win in Game 1 of the wild-card series and moving within one victory of the National League Division Series.
This one was never subtle. From the opening pitch, San Diego looked in command, and Michael King set the tone immediately by striking out NL MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong on three pitches to start the game. After a clean top of the first, Fernando Tatis Jr. jumped on the first pitch he saw and lined it into center field for a quick 1-0 Padres lead.
The pressure only built from there. Two batters later, Manny Machado launched a ball into the left-field seats, and just four pitches into the game San Diego was already up 2-0. King kept the Cubs from ever settling in, working around a Xander Bogaerts error in the second inning and a two-out walk in the third.
Machado added more in the third, hammering an RBI double to right-center that brought Tatis home. Then Bogaerts answered his earlier miscue in a big way, lining a 399-foot homer to left field in the fourth after an eight-pitch battle.
San Diego kept stacking innings, and the fifth brought another burst. After King spun another 1-2-3 frame, the Padres broke it open with three runs in the bottom half. Jackson Merrill came through with a two-run single with the bases loaded, and a passed ball brought in the seventh run.
King kept dealing deep into the night. He finished the sixth without allowing a hit, then came back out for the seventh and saw the no-hit bid end on a one-out Nico Hoerner infield single after a PitchCom issue. Even then, King reset quickly and struck out the next two hitters to close out a brilliant outing.
Michael King in wild-card Game 1 for the Padres:7 IP1 H (infield single in the 7th)0 ER3 BB8 KThe postseason is where legends are made. This was a legendary performance from the Padres ace.
Tatis wasn’t done either. In the seventh, he turned a routine sequence into another run, beating out an infield single to shortstop, stealing second, and then scoring on a throw that sailed into left field.
Yuki Matsui handled the eighth with a 1-2-3 inning, and then Joe Musgrove got the ball in the ninth in a scene that had Petco Park buzzing. Musgrove, a surprise addition to the wild-card roster after not pitching since October 2024, came in and finished off the scoreless inning despite some traffic.
The Padres now have a 1-0 lead in the series and can wrap things up Wednesday night. Game 2 is set for 7 p.m.
PT/10 p.m. ET, with the winner heading to Milwaukee for the NLDS, which begins Saturday.
In Other News...
Manny Machado Just Added More Heat To Cubs Padres Rivalry
The Cubs postseason matchup with the Padres was already carrying plenty of edge, and Manny Machado managed to add a little more before the first pitch. During a press conference ahead of the Wild Card series, the San Diego third baseman drew attention for a sharp response to reporter Karthik Venkataraman after being asked about the reporters attire, a moment that quickly went viral and gave an already tense series another talking point.
Chicagos side of the bracket does not need much more fuel, but this kind of pregame flashpoint tends to linger once October baseball starts. With Game 1 set for Tuesday night in San Diego, the Cubs now head into a best-of-3 series with a little extra noise surrounding one of the Padres most recognizable players, and little doubt that every early exchange will be watched closely. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Just Learned The Pitching Test Waiting In Game 2
The Cubs now know the pitching challenge waiting in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series, and it comes in the form of Nick Pivetta. San Diego has officially lined up the right-hander for the second game against Chicago, a sign the Padres are comfortable handing a big spot to a pitcher who only recently returned after nearly five months away with an elbow injury.
Pivettas recent starts have gone well enough to earn that trust, which raises the degree of difficulty for a Cubs lineup that already has to navigate October pressure on the road. And if the series pushes to a decisive Game 3, Chicago would likely see another familiar name on the mound in Walker Buehler, giving the Cubs a clear sense that San Diegos pitching plan is built to make every game feel like a different kind of test. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Gave The Cubs A Wild-Card Twist To Worry About
The wild-card picture for the Cubs got a little clearer, and a little more complicated, when San Diego unveiled its 26-man roster for the series. The Padres are carrying 15 position players and 11 pitchers, and the group looks built for a short, tactical matchup with enough catching depth to give them options behind the plate. For Chicago, the roster read was a reminder that October baseball often turns on the smallest personnel decisions.
The most notable development is Joe Musgroves return to the postseason roster after missing the 2025 season following Tommy John surgery. He last pitched in the 2024 wild-card series, and his presence adds another experienced arm to a Padres staff that also made a few eye-catching calls at the margins, including keeping Andujar and Sheets while leaving Sung-Mun Song, Wandy Peralta and Randy Vasquez off the list. For the Cubs, the challenge now is figuring out how San Diego intends to deploy all of those pieces once the series gets moving. [Read more 🡒]