MLB Wild Card Game 1 round-up: Padres shut out Braves, Mets continue clutch run, Tigers and Royals claim narrow victories
By Jamie Barton, CNN
(CNN) — The MLB postseason got underway on Tuesday, with eight teams competing in Game 1 of the NL and AL Wild Card series.
The day was dominated by excellence on the mound, with two teams recording shutout victories and one pitcher in particular continuing his quest for this year’s American League Cy Young Award.
Here are the main storylines from Tuesday’s action.
King makes history to give Padres 1-0 lead
A dominant performance from starter Michael King gave the San Diego Padres a 4-0 shutout win over the Atlanta Braves in front of the biggest crowd in Petco Park history.
With 47,647 in attendance, King pitched seven innings, giving up five hits, no runs and striking out 12. In doing so, he became the first pitcher in MLB history to pick up 12 Ks while allowing no runs or walks in his first postseason start.
The 29-year-old was a surprise choice for Game 1, coming on the back of his first regular season as a full-time starter. The right-hander arrived in San Diego as part of the trade deal which saw Juan Soto move to the New York Yankees.
“I think feeling that pressure from the start of the game was something that I wanted to use to my advantage and build off of,” he said afterwards according to MLB.com. “So feeling the crowd noise, knowing how big postseason games are, it all played into my mentality.”
King’s performance helped the Padres continue their excellent run. Since the All-Star Game in mid-July, San Diego has the best record in the majors (43-20). The team will need to continue that form to have a chance of winning its first ever World Series title.
A two-run homer from Fernando Tatis Jr. in the bottom of the first got the Padres off to a flyer on Tuesday, and Kyle Higashioka followed it up with a sac fly to bring home Jake Cronenworth in the second to make it 3-0.
Higashioka rounded off the scoring in the eighth with a solo home run to left field.
“This is as loud a stadium as we’re going to play in,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt per MLB.com. “And it’s good to have it on our side.”
Mets keep clutch run going in dramatic win over Brewers
The New York Mets completed a second comeback in two days to move within one game of an unlikely National League Division Series appearance.
Finding themselves 2-0 down after the first and 4-3 down after the fourth, the Mets came back with five crucial runs in the fifth to beat the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 at American Family Field.
It has been a season of clutch victories for the Mets, the most dramatic of which came on Monday when Francisco Lindor’s two-run homer in the ninth gave New York the 8-7 win which took them to the postseason.
New York has also made a comeback on a larger scale this year, having started the season 22-33 yet still making the playoffs.
The Brewers began well on Tuesday, leading off with a double and two singles in a bottom of the first which would see two runs scored.
But New York hit back, Jesse Winker tying the game with a two-run triple against his old team, before a sac fly from Starling Marte gave the Mets the lead.
They would not hold it for long. Jackson Chourio’s RBI double in the fourth was quickly followed by a ground out from William Contreras which drove home the go-ahead run.
With two out in the top of the fifth, the Mets were struggling. But tremendous hustle from Jose Iglesias saw him reach first on a line drive which was stopped by Rhys Hoskins, bringing home Tyrone Taylor to tie the game.
“That was probably the biggest changing point of the game,” said designated hitter JD Martinez according to MLB.com. “You could see the momentum swing right after that.”
Two-run singles from Mark Vientos and Martinez made it 8-4 to the Mets, and the remaining four innings would remarkably see no hits and one walk. The Brewers have now lost 10 of their last 11 postseason games.
Pitching excellence sees Tigers and Royals come out on top
Having finished the regular season with a Triple Crown as the AL’s 2024 leader in wins, ERA and strikeouts, Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal picked up where he left off to start the postseason.
The left-hander, who is the heavy favorite to win this year’s AL Cy Young Award, threw six scoreless innings – giving up four hits, one walk and striking out six – to help Detroit to a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros.
“It was a good challenge,” the 27-year-old said after the game. “It was a ton of fun, I enjoyed it. It’s probably the most nervous I’ve been since my debut, so that was also fun to deal with.”
Cole Ragans was similarly inspired for the Kansas City Royals as they recorded a 1-0 shutout win over the Baltimore Orioles.
It was Ragans’ first ever playoff game, and Kansas City’s first since 2015 when they won the World Series.
The starter did not appear daunted on the mound, allowing four hits, no walks and picking up eight strikeouts in six innings of action
“Oh yeah, there was adrenaline,” Ragans laughed afterwards per MLB.com. “That first inning, man. I felt like I controlled it well. I filled it up, but there was definitely some adrenaline there. It got loud.”
The playoffs continue on Wednesday, with each team facing off again in Game 2.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
