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Padres Notes: Game 1 Blowout vs Cubs, Game 2 Starter Announced, Message to Pete Crow-Armstrong

Catch up on all the latest Padres news and notes.
Gabe Smallson|
Sep 29, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates after scoring against the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Sep 29, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates after scoring against the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres trounced the Chicago Cubs, 8-0, on Tuesday evening to announce themselves to the 2026 postseason in ultra-dominant fashion.

The first three pitches of the wild-card series were all strikes thrown by right-hander Michael King to presumed National League MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong. It was the precursor to what turned into an astounding eight-strikeout, one-hit (an infield single in the seventh) performance across seven scoreless innings of work for the man who has been among the most consistent pieces of the rotation all season long.

Superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. unleashed on the very first pitch of what hopes to be a deep postseason run for San Diego's offense with a 405-foot solo home run. Three pitches later, Manny Machado followed suit with a solo home run of his own.

Tatis, Machado, Ty France, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts (who also slugged a solo home run in the fourth) all had multi-hit nights in an incredibly special evening at Petco Park.

Before the festivities concluded, however, right-hander Joe Musgrove trotted out of the bullpen and threw off a major league mound for the first time in nearly two years. He was met with a thunderous ovation and struck out two batters as he closed out the ninth in what was perhaps a perfect ending to an extremely memorable game.

Now, all focus shifts to Wednesday, where the starter for Game 2 has been announced as the Padres look to advance to the NLDS for the first time since the 2024. A right-hander who missed nearly five months of the season due to an elbow injury will take the bump across from Cubs right-hander Kevin Gausman.

Finally, various stars sent a message to Crow-Armstrong ahead of the wild-card series. Before eventually striking him out twice on Tuesday, King had a glowing review for the young center fielder and noted how meteoric his rise has been as he now sits as the front runner for the MVP award.

"I think his development and how he adjusted. You saw last year there was still a ton of strikeouts, a ton of chase, and he’s fully taken that down," King said.

"So now you have a guy that is super toolsy, that obviously plays phenomenal defense, but now you’re up at the plate with a ton of contact, a ton of power, and not a ton of chase. Like you said, it’s an MVP season. Having him start them off is definitely a test and definitely something that we have to focus on of keeping him off the bases and setting the tone early."

Here’s all the latest Padres news and stories (click the headline for the full article):

Padres, Cubs Announce Starting Pitchers for Wild-Card Game 2

Padres Stars Have Message for Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong Before Wild-Card Series

Padres Announce Wild-Card Roster vs Cubs With One Massive Surprise

Padres Striking Fear in Opponents Ahead of 2026 Postseason

Padres vs Cubs Expert Predictions for Wild-Card Series at Petco Park

Padres Starting Lineup for Wild-Card Game 1 vs Cubs Revealed

Padres Move One Win Away From NLDS With Dominant Win Over Cubs in Wild-Card Game 1

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Gabe Smallson
GABE SMALLSON

Gabe Smallson is a sportswriter based in Los Angeles with a focus in sports and entertainment content. Gabe has previously worked at Newsweek and Dodgers Nation. He graduated from San Francisco State University in 2020 and received his Masters of Science at the University of Southern California in 2025.

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