The Padres made an emphatic statement in their wild-card opener against the Cubs, getting a leadoff homer from Fernando Tatis Jr. and a brilliant effort on the mound from Michael King in an 8-0 win in Game 1. Tatis hit the first pitch he saw for a home run, a 405-foot blast off a Matthew Boyd changeup that went for the Padres' first leadoff home run in postseason history and paved the way for a thorough offensive onslaught. Michael King began his start by firing 98 mph fastballs, setting the tone for a start in which he carried a no-hitter through six innings and stymied the Cubs' best hitters.

King held the Cubs hitless through 6⅓ innings, registering the longest no-hit bid since Anibal Sanchez lasted 7⅔ innings in the 2019 National League Championship Series. Joe Musgrove preserved the shutout, working around a bases-loaded jam after returning from Tommy John surgery. The Padres handed the Cubs, who scored more runs than anybody in baseball this season, their first shutout in 132 playoff games all time, and they notched their largest playoff shutout in franchise history.

Tatis, Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts, the Padres' four star position players, combined for eight hits, three home runs and five batted balls over 103 mph.