Michael King and the San Diego Padres staved off elimination on Tuesday, escaping with a nail-biting win over the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3, in Game 3 of the NLDS at Petco Park.

Despite only having a day of rest, King came in and pitched the final two innings to help seal the narrow victory and force a Game 4. He logged his first save in the playoffs and his first since 2023.

In the process, he also made history, according to OptaSTATS.

“Michael King of the Padres is the only MLB pitcher to start a postseason game and then notch a 6+ out save within the next two days (since saves became official in 1969),” said the post on X.

With the Padres' backs against the wall, the 31-year-old right-hander knew he had to gut it out. That's exactly what he did, shutting down the Brewers after taking over from Yuki Matsui in the eighth inning. Bradgley Rodriguez and Jason Adam also had time on the mound, relieving Nick Pivetta.

King, who was a reliever for the New York Yankees, had one strikeout and allowed one hit and two walks in 40 pitches against eight batters.

Article Continues Below

He also starred for the Padres in their sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card round, including dropping an all-time quote after flirting with a no-hitter in Game 1.

“Adrenaline is a crazy drug, and I'm looking forward to it for the next five weeks,” said King.

Game 4 is on Wednesday at Petco Park. As of this writing, neither San Diego nor Milwaukee has announced its starter.