Michael King was never a full-time starter in New York. He came to San Diego and became a Game 1 ace.
With 12 strikeouts across seven shutout innings, King dominated the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday to lift the Padres to a 4-0 win in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a first-inning home run that gave the Padres a lead before they’d made a single out, and King took it from there.
The Padres were the only home team to win on the first day of the wild-card round.
Acquired in December’s blockbuster trade for superstar Juan Soto, King never started more than nine games in any of his four-plus seasons with the Yankees — he was mostly a reliever — but flourished in his first season with the Padres. After an especially strong second half (2.15 ERA) King got the Game 1 nod ahead of three more-experienced Padres starters, and he lived up to that billing with one of his best starts of the year on the biggest stage of his career. Kevin Brown is the only Padres starter to record more strikeouts in a playoff game.
The Braves, after playing a doubleheader on Monday and losing ace Chris Sale to back spasms, countered with 21-year-old starter AJ Smith-Shawver who spent most of the season in Triple-A and made only one big-league start in the regular season. Smith-Shawver was pulled after 1 1/3 innings and was charged with three runs.
On Oct. 1, 2020, inside a virtually empty Petco Park, Tatis hit two home runs and drove in five runs, powering a wild comeback win against a St. Louis Cardinals team managed by current Padres skipper Mike Shildt. For four full years, those were Tatis’ only playoff home runs. Along the way, he signed a 13-year extension, broke his left wrist in a motorcycle accident, served an 80-game steroid suspension, underwent shoulder surgery, moved from shortstop to right field, won a Platinum Glove and sustained a stress reaction in his left leg. Finally, on Tuesday, he played in his first postseason game in front of fans.
Despite still being less than 100 percent, he immediately delivered. Tatis’ first-pitch, first-inning, two-run homer off Smith-Shawver proved decisive. It also served as a reminder that, for all that has transpired over the past few years, Tatis remains one of the best big-game talents in the sport. Without him, the 2022 Padres finished only a few wins shy of a World Series appearance. How far might the 2024 Padres go with Tatis back in what appears to be his natural environment?
Smith-Shawver decision backfires on Braves
The Braves surprised many when they named rookie Smith-Shawver to start the Wild Card Series opener. Not that they had great options, with Sale out and other regular starters used over the weekend and in Monday’s doubleheader. Still, Smith-Shawver, who had five MLB starts in 2023, had only one this season more than four months ago, and had a 4.55 ERA in his last five starts in Triple A, allowing four homers in six innings of the final one on Sept. 22.
The moment proved too big for him Tuesday, and now there’s major pressure on Max Fried in a win-or-go-home Game 2 start that could be Fried’s last for Atlanta.
The Braves could’ve made a safer choice Tuesday with Bryce Elder, but they said Smith-Shawver’s better “stuff” weighed in the decision. But Smith-Shawver came out throwing 93-94 mph fastballs in the first inning, not the 96-97 where he’s most effective. After Luis Arraez led off with a single, Tatis Jr. pulverized a 93.5 mph fastball over the middle. Smith-Shawver has allowed four homers in four innings of two postseason games, including a 2023 NLDS relief appearance.
Michael King showed why he might already be the Padres’ new No. 1
On a night when Tatis re-announced his star status, King showed why the Padres felt confident giving him the ball before veteran starters Joe Musgrove and Dylan Cease — and why the former reliever might already be San Diego’s closest thing to an ace.
King wielded nasty movement and exquisite command. The 29-year-old became just the third pitcher in Padres history to throw seven or more scoreless innings in a playoff start, joining Musgrove and Kevin Brown.
King’s 12 strikeouts were the second-most ever in a Padres postseason game, behind the 16 Brown amassed on Sept. 29, 1998. Leaguewide in playoff games, King also became the first pitcher to go at least seven scoreless with 12-plus strikeouts and no walks since Clayton Kershaw in 2020.
Yes, Tuesday’s dominance came at the expense of a weary Atlanta offense, but since early May, King arguably has been the second-best starter in the National League behind Sale. With the Braves left-hander sidelined by back trouble and Musgrove scheduled to start Wednesday’s game, the Padres are well-positioned to pull off a two-game sweep. King is the biggest reason.
(Photo of Fernando Tatis Jr.: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
