King and Tatis lead the charge
The San Diego Padres made a massive statement in their NL Wild Card Series opener, beating the Chicago Cubs 8-0 on Tuesday night. Fernando Tatis Jr. set the tone immediately. He hit the first leadoff home run in Padres playoff history on the very first pitch of the game.
Manny Machado followed with another home run in the first inning. He later added an RBI double in the third, scoring Tatis from first base.
On the mound, Michael King was unstoppable. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and struck out eight batters over seven brilliant innings. He started his night by striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong on three pitches. Nico Hoerner got the only hit off King with an infield single in the seventh.
Padres pile on the runs
The Padres offence did not stop there. Xander Bogaerts hit a home run in the fourth inning off Cubs starter Matthew Boyd. In the fifth, Jackson Merrill hit a two-run single with the bases loaded, and Ty France scored on a passed ball to make it 7-0.
Tatis scored his third run of the night in the seventh inning. He singled, stole second, and ran home when a throw went into center field.
Joe Musgrove came on in the ninth inning to seal the shutout. It was his first major league appearance since October 2, 2024, after returning from Tommy John surgery. He struck out pinch-hitter Michael Conforto to end the game and seal the 8-0 win.
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