09/30/26 12:03:00
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09/30 00:01 CDT Padres rout Cubs 8-0 in emphatic Wild Card opener with Tatis'
leadoff homer, King's no-hit bid
Padres rout Cubs 8-0 in emphatic Wild Card opener with Tatis' leadoff homer,
King's no-hit bid
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) --- Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the first leadoff homer in Padres
playoff history on the Cubs' first pitch, Michael King took a no-hitter into
the seventh inning and San Diego rolled to an 8-0 victory over Chicago in their
NL Wild Card Series opener on Tuesday night.
Manny Machado also homered in the first inning and added an RBI double in the
third during an emphatic opening statement by the 91-win Padres. Xander
Bogaerts also homered off Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, and Jackson Merrill added
a two-run single later.
San Diego provided more than enough support for King, who struck out eight over
seven stellar innings while thoroughly throttling the majors' highest-scoring
team. King set the tone by striking out probable NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong
with the game's first three pitches.
Nico Hoerner got the Cubs' only hit off King with a one-out infield single in
the seventh, but King racked up two more strikeouts to earn the last of several
standing ovations from the raucous sellout crowd watching his third career
playoff start.
Game 2 is Wednesday night at Petco Park. The series winner faces the MLB-best
Milwaukee Brewers in the best-of-five division series.
Chicago had just one hit before getting to Joe Musgrove, the Padres veteran
making his first major league appearance since Oct. 2, 2024, in the ninth
inning. The Cubs got two singles and a walk before Musgrove struck out
pinch-hitter Michael Conforto to preserve the shutout in his return from Tommy
John surgery.
The Padres dominated the opener of this rematch of last fall's Wild Card
Series, won by the Cubs in three tight games. San Diego scored more runs in the
first five innings of this series opener than it did last year in all three
games at Wrigley Field combined.
San Diego finished this season with the majors' sixth-best record, besting
Chicago by two wins and setting franchise records with its third straight
playoff berth and fifth straight winning record. The Padres hit the postseason
on a 17-3 roll, and they're still surging.
Boyd's opening pitch was a changeup, and Tatis crushed it 405 feet to center in
a blast reminiscent of his first-inning homer in Game 1 of San Diego's 2024 NL
Wild Card Series victory over Atlanta.
Moments later, Machado smashed another changeup out to left-center, setting off
pandemonium at Petco with his franchise-record ninth postseason homer.
Tatis walked in the third and scored from first on Machado's double to the
wall. Bogaerts connected in the fourth, lining a full-count changeup into the
seats on the Western Metal Supply Co. building above left field.
San Diego loaded the bases in the fifth against reliever Javier Assad, and
Merrill cracked a two-run single to center before Ty France scored on a passed
ball.
King escaped the minor trouble he faced, picking up key strikeouts and throwing
his sweeper superbly. Hoerner got Chicago's hit on a grounder that Machado
stopped with difficulty, but couldn't transfer to his throwing hand cleanly
enough to make a play.
Tatis scored his third run in the seventh when he singled, stole second and ran
all the way home when the throw trickled into center. Tatis slid headfirst past
the tag and came up screaming while Machado theatrically signaled him safe.
Up next
Nick Pivetta (3-2, 2.86 ERA) starts Game 2 for the Padres in his fifth game
back from a near five-month absence with a right elbow injury. The Cubs haven't
named their starter.
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