The Padres entered Tuesday as arguably the hottest offense in baseball. Over their past five postseason games, though, they had scored a total of five runs. They had not advanced beyond a division series since their 2022 run.
Then, Fernando Tatis Jr. delivered a first-pitch leadoff home run. Three pitches later, Manny Machado also went deep. In the bottom of the fourth, Xander Bogaerts joined in the barrage. For only the third time, all three multi-time All-Stars homered in the same game. Jackson Merrill, another franchise cornerstone, contributed a two-run single in support of Michael King, who became the first pitcher since Zac Gallen in the 2023 World Series to take a postseason no-hit bid into the seventh.
The Padres had never seen a collective performance like this, especially on such an elevated stage. Their stars had occasionally performed but ultimately fizzled out in previous Octobers. Now, they are powering arguably the most dangerous team in this postseason.
