The Padres cruised to an 8-0 win over the Cubs in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series in a game that had plenty of headlines. Michael King carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning before Nico Hoerner broke it up with a single down the third base line that Manny Machado made a diving stab for but couldn't come up with cleanly. He ended the night pitching 7 shutout innings and striking out 8. Fernando Tatis Jr. blasted the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the 1st inning over the center field fence to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. Manny Machado ripped a homer to left field two batters later. Machado then drove in Tatis Jr. with a 2-out double in the 3rd inning, and Xander Bogaerts got in on the long ball fun with a solo shot of his own in the 4th. Fernando Tatis Jr. electrified the crowd in the 7th inning when he stole second base with the Padres leading 7-0, and then scampered all the way home to score when the throw got away on Carson Kelly's throw down to second base. But the storyline that hung over the entire game was the potential to see Joe Musgrove make his season debut for the Padres after missing the last two seasons while rehabbing an elbow injury, something that became possible earlier in the day when the Padres announced Musgrove had been included on the Wild Card roster. With the Padres having an 8-run cushion in the 9th inning, Musgrove entered the game from the bullpen, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Musgrove struck out the first hitter he faced, but then allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases. But in typical Joe Musgrove fashion, he came through for his team and retired the next two batters he faced to preserve the shutout and close out a Game 1 win. Nick Pivetta will match up against Kevin Gausman in Game 2 on Wednesday night.
You can watch the Jamul Casino Resort Padres Postgame Show below, with full highlights from the game and Craig Stammen's postgame press conference.
