MLB Wild Card Game 1 recap: Padres knock off Braves, Mets continue winning streak, Tigers and Royals earn narrow victories

CNN
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The MLB postseason began on Tuesday, with eight teams competing in Game 1 of the NL and AL Wild Card Series.

The day was marked by outstanding performances on the mound, with two teams posting 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.

A dominant performance from starter Michael King gave the San Diego Padres a 4-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves in front of the largest crowd in Petco Park history.

With a crowd of 47,647, King pitched seven innings, giving up five hits, no runs and recording twelve strikeouts. In doing so, he became the first pitcher in MLB history to record 12 Ks without allowing any runs or walks in his first postseason start.

The 29-year-old was a surprising choice for Game 1 after completing his first regular season as a full-time starter. The right-hander came to San Diego as part of the trade deal that sent Juan Soto to the New York Yankees.

“I think I felt the pressure from the start of the game and I wanted to use it to my advantage and build on it,” he said afterwards, according to MLB.com. “The feeling of the crowd noise and knowing how big postseason games are, it all affected 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 must maintain this form to have a chance of winning its first-ever World Series title.

A two-run home run by Fernando Tatis Jr. in the bottom of the first put the Padres ahead with a flyer on Tuesday, and Kyle Higashioka followed with a sac fly to score Jake Cronenworth in the second to make it 3-0 close .

Higashioka rounded out 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,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said, per MLB.com. “And it’s good to have it on our side.”

The New York Mets staged their second comeback in two days and are just one game away from an improbable National League Division Series appearance.

Trailing 2-0 after the first and 4-3 after the fourth, the Mets came back with five game-winning runs in the fifth to defeat the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 at American Family Field.

It’s been a season full of wins for the Mets, the most dramatic of which came Monday when Francisco Lindor’s two-run home run in the ninth gave New York an 8-7 win that sent them into the postseason.

New York has also made a comeback on a larger scale this year after starting the season 22-33 and still making the playoffs.

The Brewers started well on Tuesday, leading off with a double and two singles in the bottom of the first in which two runs were scored.

But New York fought back, Jesse Winker tying the game with a two-run triple against his old team before a sac fly by Starling Marte gave the Mets the lead.

They wouldn’t last long. Jackson Chourio’s RBI double in the fourth was quickly followed by a William Contreras groundout to get the go-ahead score.

With two outs to start the fifth, the Mets were in trouble. But Jose Iglesias’ tremendous effort saw him reach first on a line drive that was stopped by Rhys Hoskins, bringing home Tyrone Taylor to tie the game.

“That was probably the biggest turning point of the game,” designated hitter JD Martinez said, according to MLB.com. “You could immediately see how the dynamic changed.”

Two run singles from Mark Vientos and Martinez made it 8-4 for the Mets, and remarkably there were no hits and just one walk in the remaining four innings. The Brewers have now lost 10 of their last 11 postseason games.

Thanks to their excellent pitching, the Tigers and Royals have the edge

After finishing the regular season with a Triple Crown as the AL leader in wins, ERA and strikeouts in 2024, Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal picked up where he left off and began the postseason.

The left-hander, who is the heavy favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award this year, pitched six scoreless innings – giving up four hits, one walk and six strikeouts – to help Detroit to a 3-1 victory over Houston Astros.

“It was a good challenge,” said the 27-year-old after the game. “It was a lot of fun, I enjoyed it. It’s probably the most nervous I’ve experienced since my debut, so it’s been fun dealing with that too.”

Cole Ragans was also thrilled 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 didn’t appear intimidated on the mound, allowing four hits, no walks and recording eight strikeouts in six innings of action

“Oh yeah, there was adrenaline,” Ragans laughed afterwards, according to MLB.com. “The first inning, man. I felt like I could control it well. I filled it up, but there was definitely some adrenaline. It got loud.”

The playoffs continue on Wednesday with both teams facing off again in Game 2.