Tatis goes deep on the first pitch as Padres rout Cubs 8-0 in Wild Card opener
Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the first leadoff home run in Padres playoff history, Michael King took a no-hitter into the seventh, and Joe Musgrove returned from Tommy John surgery to close an 8-0 Game 1 win over the Cubs at a sold-out Petco Park.
SAN DIEGO: The Padres opened the National League Wild Card Series the way they had drawn it up. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the first leadoff home run in franchise playoff history on the game's first pitch, Michael King carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and Joe Musgrove returned from Tommy John surgery to close out an 8-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night at a sold-out Petco Park.
Tatis jumped on a changeup from Cubs starter Matthew Boyd and sent it 405 feet to center field, giving San Diego the lead before the crowd had settled in. Later in the inning, Manny Machado homered for the ninth time in a Padres postseason, a franchise record, then added an RBI double in the third that scored Tatis. "When those guys are leading the charge, we're a pretty tough team," Padres manager Craig Stammen said.
San Diego kept adding on. Xander Bogaerts homered into the seats atop the Western Metal Supply Co. building in left field in the fourth, Jackson Merrill singled home two runs in the fifth, and Ty France scored on a passed ball.
King's night
King, making the third playoff start of his career, was just as sharp as the lineup. He struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong on the first three pitches of the game and did not allow a hit until Nico Hoerner's one-out infield single in the seventh. He finished with seven scoreless innings and eight strikeouts.
"It gives me confidence knowing the team has confidence in me to pitch in these games," King said. "But then when you have our superstars showing out like that in the bottom of the first, it makes it a lot easier."
"Honestly, it was hard to stay locked in in the bottom of the first," King added. "I love to celebrate my guys hitting homers, but obviously I have a job to do. Hard to stay dialed in on what I was doing because it was an absolutely electric atmosphere."
Musgrove returns
The night also belonged to Musgrove, who had not pitched in the majors since Oct. 2, 2024. He worked the ninth, allowed two singles and a walk, then struck out pinch-hitter Michael Conforto to preserve the shutout, completing his comeback from elbow surgery.
The context
The series is a rematch of the 2025 Wild Card Series, which the Cubs won in three games at Wrigley Field. San Diego scored more runs in the first five innings Tuesday than it managed in all three games of that series. The win extended a franchise-record third straight playoff berth and a fifth straight winning season, capping a 17-3 run into October for a 91-win club that finished with the sixth-best record in the majors, two games better than Chicago.
They had a lot to cheer about tonight, and we didn’t give them anything to be quiet about.
Game 2 is Wednesday night at Petco Park. Nick Pivetta (3-2, 2.86 ERA) starts for San Diego in his fifth game back from a nearly five-month absence with a right elbow injury, against Chicago's Kevin Gausman (4-2, 4.83). The winner of the series faces the Milwaukee Brewers, owners of the best record in the majors, in the best-of-five National League Division Series.
Stammen, managing his first postseason game, was not ready to celebrate. "We couldn't write it up any better... (but) it's just one game, and we've got a job to do to finish the series off," he said. "The Cubs are a great team. They didn't play their best game tonight, but I guarantee they're going to play their best game tomorrow."
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