SAN DIEGO -- Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado live for these moments.
For the last seven years, the Padres have been the beneficiary of electrifying highlights from the superstar duo that has helped propel them into the franchise’s golden age -- and they have never been ones to deny them of such. So in a way, what happened in the first inning of San Diego’s eventual 8-0 victory over the Cubs in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Tuesday night at Petco Park felt inevitable.
But that didn’t make it any less electrifying.
Leading off the bottom half of the frame, Tatis drove Cubs starter Matthew Boyd’s very first offering a Statcast-projected 405 feet into the Padres bullpen in left-center field, just over the outstretched glove of a leaping Pete Crow-Armstrong.
It marked the first time a Padres player had hit a leadoff home run in a postseason game, and it sent the East Village into an immediate frenzy -- very reminiscent of Tatis’ first-inning, two-run shot in Game 1 of the 2024 Wild Card Series off Braves starter Reynaldo López.
It got even louder just a few moments later.
Machado got an 81.5 mph changeup on the outside edge from Boyd and deposited it into the left-field bleachers. 2-0 Padres, just like that. It was the first time the Padres hit multiple home runs in the first inning of a postseason game and the ninth time in any inning.
Both blows set the tone for the Padres and gave Michael King all the cushion he needed over a dominant seven innings of work before the Padres’ vaunted bullpen took care of the rest.
But that was only the first inning. Tatis and Machado were just getting started.
In his next at-bat in the third, Machado roped a 108 mph double off the wall in right-center, scoring Tatis from first after he walked with one out in the inning. Machado added a walk to his line in the fifth and came around to score on Jackson Merrill’s two-run single that made it 6-0.
Then came the seventh, and arguably the highlight of the night.
After beating out a slow roller hit to Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, Tatis took off for second on a stolen-base attempt with Dustin Harris at the plate. Tatis beat the throw from catcher Carson Kelly, but the ball skipped off him and fell into shallow left-center field.
Tatis didn’t hesitate. He sprung to his feet and took off for third, ditching his helmet along the way. He rounded third as left fielder Ian Happ was getting to the baseball and dove head-first into home safely.
He let out a triumphant cry from his knees, and the rest of Petco Park followed suit.
If the first inning looked familiar with Boyd on the mound, it’s because it happened before -- earlier this year, in fact, when Tatis and Machado both homered off him on June 30 at Wrigley Field. Tatis’ blast in that game was also of the leadoff variety. Tuesday’s big flies broke a nice streak for the left-hander, who hadn’t allowed a homer in 119 batters faced all of September.
Quite the start to the Padres' postseason run.