King to start playoff opener for Padres vs Braves in front of 'absolutely nuts' fans at Petco Park

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Michael King made his postseason debut for the New York Yankees in the AL playoff bubble during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season at eerily empty Petco Park, where the only “fans” were a few thousand cardboard cutouts.

He pitched two innings in a loss in Game 3 in a Division Series that Tampa Bay won in five games.

The right-hander will get the full playoff blast on Tuesday night when he starts for the Padres at sold-out Petco Park in the opener of a best-of-three Wild Card Series against Atlanta. The Braves clinched a berth by winning the second game of a makeup doubleheader against the New York Mets on Monday.

“I can't wait to see this place in the playoffs," King said. "Obviously, I did see it in the playoffs, but nobody was in the crowd and nobody wanted either the Yankees or the Rays to win. But the fans here are absolutely nuts and I am very excited to see what we can bring."

The Padres drew a club-record 3,314,593 fans to the downtown ballpark, with 56 sellouts in 80 games (they gave up a home game to play a two-game opening series in Seoul, South Korea, against the Los Angeles Dodgers).

King (13-9, 2.95 ERA) came over in the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees on Dec. 7. He is one of several new players who have helped give the Padres a different vibe than the 2023 squad, which had baseball's third-highest opening day payroll yet responded with the most disappointing season in club history.

The Padres are back in the playoffs for the first time since their stirring run to the NL Championship Series in 2022 that included eliminating the 111-win rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS on a rainy Saturday night, when the downtown ballpark practically shook.

“I've heard about that 2022 run and what they did, and I think that that’s incredibly uncomfortable for an opposing team to come into,” King said. "It's a lot to come in to that atmosphere. And knowing that they’re going to be even louder and probably even more somehow, it’s going to be a very tough time for our opponent and something that we’re going to have to feed off of.

"I can’t wait to turn up my PitchCom and make sure I can hear everything. But it’ll be a very fun time tomorrow.”

Mike Shildt, in his first year managing the Padres, said Joe Musgrove will start Wednesday night and Dylan Cease will start if a Game 3 is needed Thursday night. Yu Darvish will be on the playoff roster but work out of the bullpen.

Shildt replaced Bob Melvin, who reportedly clashed with general manager A.J. Preller and left for NL West rival San Francisco last October.

The Padres have come on strong since the All-Star break to clinch their third playoff berth since 2020.

Slugger Manny Machado has bounced back from a slow start following offseason elbow surgery. Fernando Tatis Jr. and his swagger returned after a two-month injury layoff. Center fielder Jackson Merrill is making a strong push for NL Rookie of the Year. Luis Arraez, acquired from Miami in early May, hit .314 to become the first player since the 1800s to win three batting titles with three different teams.

General manager A.J. Preller added to the rotation and bullpen at the trade deadline.

“Honestly, it's just a great group of guys,” Machado said. “We're just united, we're all pulling for each other. It's one big family in there.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Bernie Wilson, The Associated Press