Padres 8, Cubs 0: King, Three Homers, and a Petco Rout

First pitch, first homer. Then King almost threw a no-hitter.

September 29, 2026 - San Diego - Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the first pitch he saw from Matthew Boyd over the center-field fence. Two batters later Manny Machado went to left-center. The San Diego Padres had two homers in the first inning of a playoff game for the first time, and the Chicago Cubs were already chasing 2-0 in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series at Petco Park.

Clear. 74 degrees. Wind 4 mph left to right. First pitch 7:11 p.m. Attendance 47,084. The game lasted 2 hours, 40 minutes. Final: 8-0. San Diego leads the series 1-0.

Michael King threw seven innings: one hit, no earned runs, three walks, eight strikeouts, 97 pitches. The hit was a one-out grounder in the seventh, Nico Hoerner dribbling one down the third-base line. King had taken a no-hit bid that far, the longest individual no-hit bid in the postseason since Aníbal Sánchez went 7 2/3 for Washington in the 2019 NLCS, the MLB recap said.

"Today was a beautiful night of baseball," Tatis said, per MLB.com. "For every San Diegan."

Boyd for four. Three homers. Then Merrill's two-out single.

Boyd lasted four innings: five hits, four earned, one walk, four strikeouts, 58 pitches, three homers, the loss. Tatis on the first pitch. Machado two batters later. Machado doubled Tatis home in the third. 3-0. Xander Bogaerts homered to left in the fourth. 4-0.

The fifth finished the scoring argument. Luis Campusano scored. Machado scored. Jackson Merrill singled to right with two outs, Ty France to third. 7-0. Javier Assad and Ryan Rolison inherited the mess. Rolison was charged with three inherited runners scoring. Chicago's night was already over. The innings just had to finish.

King had opened against Pete Crow-Armstrong. Sinker, strike one. Sweeper, no chance. 97.6 mph at the top of the zone, the hardest pitch King had thrown in more than three years, the MLB recap said. Crow-Armstrong could not catch up. "Adrenaline is a crazy drug," King said, per MLB.com. "And I'm looking forward to it for the next five weeks."

Hoerner's seventh-inning single was the Cubs' first hit. They finished with three. Hoerner went 2-for-4. Seiya Suzuki singled and walked. Crow-Armstrong walked, stole a base, and struck out three times. Ian Happ walked. Chicago left the ninth with two hits and three men on and still scored zero.

Tatis scored from first. Musgrove threw the ninth.

In the seventh Tatis singled, stole second, and scored when the catcher's throw went away as Dustin Harris singled. 8-0. That is the clip ESPN already labeled an electric stolen-base attempt. It was also the eighth run on a night San Diego did not need an eighth.

Joe Musgrove had not pitched in nearly two years after Tommy John surgery and more setbacks this summer. His name on a Wild Card roster was a surprise. Craig Stammen had joked there are no soft landings in October. This one was close: eight-run lead, left-center bullpen, Petco already singing Blink-182 in the eighth. Musgrove loaded the bases in the ninth and struck out Michael Conforto with a curve. Yuki Matsui had already thrown a clean eighth. The high-leverage group never left the pen.

"Home runs from two of our biggest players, and then we were able to add on," Stammen said, per MLB.com. "We couldn't write it up any better."

Tatis went 2-for-3 with a homer, a walk, a stolen base, three runs, and an RBI. Machado went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBI. Bogaerts went 2-for-4 with the homer. Merrill went 2-for-4 with two RBI. France went 2-for-4. Campusano scored. Harris singled.

"Setting the tone," Machado said, per MLB.com. "Michael went out there, had a helluva first inning, set the tone for us to go there offensively. … Petco was rocking today. It was unbelievable to play in front of."

Cubs manager Craig Counsell did not argue the atmosphere. "The crowd was great," he said, per MLB.com. "They were awesome. They had a lot to cheer about tonight, and we didn't give them anything to be quiet about."

Milwaukee is the next door. Chicago still has to be finished.

San Diego earned home field with a hot September. Game 1 used it. In the history of the best-of-three Wild Card Series, Game 1 winners have taken the series 21 of 24 times, the MLB recap said. No team has won Game 1 at home and failed to advance. The Padres still have to beat the Cubs again before they see the Brewers in the NLDS.

King already talked about five more weeks. That is a pitcher who just threw seven and parked the leverage arms. Tuesday was 8-0. Wednesday still has to be played.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put San Diego at 19 team fantasy points, second on the card behind only New York's 9-0. King had 29 pitching FP. Tatis and Machado had 11 hitting FP each.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: MLB.com schedule; MLB Gameday wrap; ESPN scoreboard; ESPN box score; AthX Engine scoring applied to verified box stats. Information only; not financial advice.*