Michael King walked off the mound Tuesday with a seven-run lead, seven scoreless innings, and a crowd ready to celebrate. His no-hit bid had ended, but his confidence in what the Padres could accomplish was just getting started.

“Adrenaline is a crazy drug,” King told AJ Cassavell postgame. “And I'm looking forward to it for the next five weeks.”

Five more weeks would take San Diego deep into the postseason, with a chance to chase the franchise’s first World Series championship. After an 8-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series, King gave Padres fans plenty of reason to share his excitement.

He established control immediately, striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman to begin the night. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado followed with first-inning home runs, giving King an early cushion and sending Petco Park into a frenzy. From there, Chicago spent most of the game searching for its first hit.

King carried the no-hitter through six innings before Nico Hoerner reached on an infield single with one out in the seventh. Machado nearly made the play, but the ball slipped from his hands. King responded with consecutive strikeouts to finish his outing, allowing one hit and three walks while striking out eight.

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Despite coming within eight outs of a no-hitter, King credited San Diego’s defensive positioning rather than claiming he had been untouchable.

“Good hitter, got to a good pitch,” King said. “There were also probably four other balls that were hit pretty hard that we were defensively placed pretty well. … So I wouldn't say that I felt like I had no-hit stuff.”

That assessment did little to diminish the performance. King kept Chicago scoreless while the Padres’ offense built a comfortable lead, giving San Diego room to finish the night with Joe Musgrove’s emotional return in the ninth.

Nick Pivetta gets the ball Wednesday with a chance to complete the sweep. King has already delivered his part in the opener. Now the Padres need another win to keep the vision moving forward.