Padres and Yankees Win MLB Wild Card Openers

The 2026 Major League Baseball postseason commenced on Tuesday with opening-game victories for the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago White Sox in their respective Wild Card Series. Dominant pitching performances from San Diego’s Michael King and New York’s Cam Schlittler highlighted the four-game slate.

Padres dominate behind King and early home runs

The San Diego Padres built an early lead against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park when outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a 405-foot home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning off Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd. San Diego added two more home runs in the inning from Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts, both coming off Boyd changeup pitches.

Padres starter Michael King carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, holding the Cubs hitless until Nico Hoerner hit an infield single down the third-base line with one out following a brief delay caused by pitch-communication equipment issues. King concluded his performance with eight strikeouts while permitting only one hit, including five strikeouts against key Cubs batters Alex Bregman and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Together, Tatis, Machado, Bogaerts, and Jackson Merrill led the San Diego offense, recording seven hits, two walks, six runs batted in, and five batted balls with exit velocities exceeding 103 miles per hour.

Schlittler and Rice lead Yankees over Red Sox

At Yankee Stadium, New York pitcher Cam Schlittler delivered 6.1 scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox, giving up two hits and one walk while striking out 10 batters. Schlittler threw a career-high 117 pitches—including 29 curveballs—and generated 24 swings and misses before exiting to a standing ovation.

The pitch total was the highest by a Yankees pitcher in a playoff game since CC Sabathia threw 120 and 121 pitches in consecutive starts during the 2012 American League Division Series.

Offensively, New York slugger Ben Rice drove the scoring by going 4 for 5 with two home runs and six runs batted in. Rice broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with a 423-foot home run off Boston relief pitcher Erik Miller, who had replaced starter Payton Tolle mid-inning.

Braves mount late comeback as White Sox win

In Atlanta, third baseman Austin Riley provided the decisive blow for the Atlanta Braves against the Philadelphia Phillies. Riley hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning to complete a comeback victory.

Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox secured a win over the Houston Astros in the opening American League fixture of the day.

Background

Major League Baseball’s Wild Card Series serves as the opening round of the postseason, featuring best-of-three series to determine which teams advance to the Division Series. Teams that win Game 1 gain a significant advantage, needing just one additional victory to advance in the playoff bracket.