Michael King came within a hit of a no-hitter, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado jumped on the Chicago Cubs early, and the San Diego Padres rolled to an 8-0 win in Game 1 of the Wild Card series at Petco Park.
The night started with a jolt. King punched out Pete Crow-Armstrong on three pitches, and the first offering was the hardest pitch he had thrown since 2023, when he was with the New York Yankees.
San Diego answered immediately in the bottom of the inning, when Tatis drilled Matthew Boyd’s first pitch for a solo homer. Two batters later, Machado added another blast, and the crowd in downtown San Diego was off and running.
From there, the Padres kept layering on pressure. In the fifth, Luis Campusano singled and Machado drew a walk with two outs.
Ty France followed with a single to load the bases, and Jackson Merrill delivered a two-run single. France later scored on a passed ball to push the lead to 7-0.
King, meanwhile, was carving through the Cubs. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh before Nico Hoerner broke it up with a single.
The ball was hit on the ground to Machado, but he bobbled the throw. Even so, King walked off to a standing ovation after the play.
He finished seven innings with three walks and eight strikeouts, allowing just the one hit in a dominant outing.
The Padres added one more burst of chaos in the seventh, and Tatis was at the center of it again. He singled, stole second, and then kept moving when Carson Kelly’s throw bounced into shallow left field. Tatis never stopped and scored on the wild sequence.
Chicago never found much rhythm against the San Diego pitching staff. Boyd lasted four innings and gave up four runs on five hits. Javier Assad followed and was tagged for three runs, two earned, on two hits in 0.2 innings, forcing Craig Counsell to go to the bullpen earlier than he wanted.
The final inning brought another loud Petco moment when Joe Musgrove entered as a surprise addition to the Wild Card roster. It was his first big league appearance since Game 2 of the Wild Card series in 2024, and the park erupted when he took the mound.
Musgrove struck out Michael Busch on three pitches, then allowed a single to Seiya Suzuki and walked Ian Happ. Nico Hoerner followed with a single to load the bases, but Musgrove got Pedro Ramirez to pop out and Michael Conforto to strike out looking, preserving the shutout.
The Padres will try to finish the series Wednesday night, with Nick Pivetta set to pitch for San Diego and Kevin Gausman on the mound for Chicago.
In Other News...
Padres Just Gave The Cubs A Wild-Card Twist To Worry About
The Padres have set their 26-man roster for the wild-card series against the Cubs, and it comes with a few choices that could shape how this matchup is played. San Diego is carrying 15 position players and 11 pitchers, with the group built to give manager Mike Shildt plenty of flexibility in a short series. The roster also includes three catchers, a clear sign the Padres want options everywhere they can find them when every move gets magnified.
One of the bigger developments is Joe Musgroves return to a postseason roster after last pitching in the 2024 wild-card series and missing the 2025 season because of Tommy John surgery. The right-hander is expected to work out of the bullpen, giving San Diego another high-profile arm it can deploy in relief. The Padres also went with Andujar and Sheets, while leaving off Sung-Mun Song, Wandy Peralta and Randy Vasquez, a set of decisions that adds a little more intrigue to how they plan to match up with Chicago. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Fans Have Every Reason To Hate This Wild Card Broadcast Choice
The wild-card series between the Padres and Cubs already has plenty of edge, and NBC Sports is adding a familiar name to the broadcast booth for Game 1. Clayton Kershaw will work as an analyst on the networks Inside the Pitch coverage, a choice that immediately stands out for San Diego fans given how often the left-hander was part of the Dodgers-Padres rivalry over the years.
NBC Sports said the assignment came down to scheduling and Kershaws previous work as an analyst, not any team tie-in. Still, it is hard to miss the timing, with a recently retired Dodger now helping frame one of the Padres biggest games of the season. Whether that creates a little extra juice for viewers or just extra irritation in San Diego, it figures to be one of the more talked-about details around Game 1. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Wild Card Roster Sends A Clear Message To The Padres
The Cubs have set their 26-man roster for the Wild Card Series against the Padres, and the group offers a pretty clear snapshot of how Chicago plans to attack the matchup. Craig Counsell leaned into defense and long-term health as he finalized the list, with 12 pitchers included and late-season acquisition Gabriel Arias among the names heading into the series.
Just as telling were the players left out, with Caleb Thielbar not making the cut and Justin Steele still on rehab. For San Diego, the roster choices suggest Chicago is willing to prioritize clean run prevention and flexible depth over some familiar pieces, a reminder that postseason decisions are often as much about matchups and health as they are about reputation. [Read more 🡒]