Padres' Michael King loses no-hit bid in 7th inning of playoff opener against the Cubs

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Michael King allowed his first hit with one out in the seventh inning of the San Diego Padres ' Wild Card Series opener against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

Nico Hoerner hit a grounder down the third base line, and Manny Machado stopped it but couldn't transfer the ball in time to make a throw. Petco Park gave a loud ovation to King after the end of his bid for the first postseason no-hitter in Padres history — and King struck out his next two batters, ending it with a nasty changeup to Carson Kelly and another standing ovation.

King yielded just three walks in the first six innings of his third career playoff start, and another Cubs batter reached on an error by shortstop Xander Bogaerts. The veteran right-hander didn't allow any runners to score, and he struck out eight while the Padres stormed to a 7-0 lead over Chicago through 6 1/2 innings.

The 31-year-old King was the obvious choice to start the Padres' opener in their fifth playoff trip over the past seven seasons. He went 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA over 32 starts in the regular season, providing a steady presence and a 1.18 WHIP.

King showed how fired up he was for this playoff opportunity when he began the game by striking out probable NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong on three pitches. King threw a fastball during the at-bat that hit 97.6 mph — his fastest pitch in a Padres uniform.

King also struck out Alex Bregman in the first. Seiya Suzuki reached on Bogaerts' awful throw in the second and eventually advanced to third, but no farther.

Crow-Armstrong walked and stole second in the third inning, but King struck out Bregman again to end it. Suzuki drew a walk in the fourth, but couldn't advance.

King spent his first four full major league seasons with the Yankees, largely as a reliever. He was traded to San Diego in December 2023 as part of the seven-player deal for Juan Soto, and King has been a solid rotation member for the Padres ever since.

King made his first postseason start two years ago for the Padres in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against Atlanta, four years after his postseason debut with the Yankees. He racked up 12 strikeouts against the Braves over seven innings of five-hit ball in a 4-0 victory.

King was slowed by injuries last season, and he made just one appearance in the Padres' tough three-game loss to the Cubs in the Wild Card Series. He re-signed with San Diego in the offseason and emerged as the most dependable starter in a turnover-plagued rotation.

King's excellence aside, the 91-win Padres jumped all over the Cubs and starter Matthew Boyd in the series opener at raucous Petco.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit San Diego's first postseason leadoff homer on Boyd's first pitch, and Machado added another first-inning homer and a third-inning RBI double. Bogaerts homered in the fourth, and Jackson Merrill added a two-run single in the fifth to break it open.

The Padres have thrown just two no-hitters in the history of a franchise that began play in 1969 — and both of them happened in the past six seasons.

Joe Musgrove, a surprise addition to San Diego's current postseason roster Tuesday after missing the past two regular seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery, made history for his hometown team by blanking Texas on April 9, 2021.

Dylan Cease followed on July 25, 2024, by no-hitting Washington.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

San Diego Padres pitcher Michael King (34) delivers against the Chicago Cubs in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres pitcher Michael King (34) throws in the first inning of Game 1 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series against the Chicago Cubs Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres pitcher Michael King delivers against the Chicago Cubs in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres pitcher Michael King (34) throws in the first inning of Game 1 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series against the Chicago Cubs Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

DULUTH, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 30, 2026--

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The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation for a comprehensive basket of goods for all U.S. households, increased 3.4% in August compared to a year ago. The cost of necessity items as used in the HBI™ metric (food, utilities, gas, auto insurance, and health care) for middle-income Americans is up 3.7% from a year ago.

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The Primerica Household Budget Index™ (HBI™) data is constructed monthly on behalf of Primerica by its chief economic consultant Amy Crews Cutts, PhD, CBE ®. The index measures the purchasing power of middle-income families with household incomes from $30,000 to $130,000 and is developed using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Bureau of Census, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The index looks at the cost of necessities including food, gas, auto insurance, utilities, and health care and earned income to track differences in inflation and wage growth.

Primerica’s HBI™ metric was created to fill an information void around the economy’s impact on middle-income families. Metrics like the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure overall inflation but don’t offer a clear picture of how it impacts middle-income Americans. Middle-income households play a key role in driving consumer spending and the overall economy as they account for over 55% of the U.S. population. The purchasing power of middle-income families are a key barometer of real-time economic trends. Understanding middle-income households’ purchasing power is important because it shows whether they are gaining financial ground or falling behind.

The HBI™ data uses January 2019 as its baseline, with the value set to 100% at that point in time.

Periodically, prior HBI™ values may be modified due to revisions in the CPI series and Consumer Expenditure Survey releases by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Beginning with the December 2024 release of the index, the expenditure weights have been updated to the most recent (Q1 2024) data and auto insurance has been added to the group of necessity items. For more information, visit householdbudgetindex.com.

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The latest Primerica Household Budget Index™ (HBI™) data, a monthly economic metric that examines how inflation and wage trends impact the ability of middle-income families to afford life’s everyday necessities, is estimated at 100.6% in August, an increase of 0.1% from July and up 0.4% from a year ago. Average earned income rose 0.3% month-over-month and increased 3.3% year-over-year.

The latest Primerica Household Budget Index™ (HBI™) data, a monthly economic metric that examines how inflation and wage trends impact the ability of middle-income families to afford life’s everyday necessities, is estimated at 100.6% in August, an increase of 0.1% from July and up 0.4% from a year ago. Average earned income rose 0.3% month-over-month and increased 3.3% year-over-year.