Michael King’s first postseason start unparalleled

SAN DIEGO — It had to be Michael King. The Padres insisted on it.

Last December, general manager A.J. Preller was in the process of trading Juan Soto — a Hall of Fame talent for whom he previously traded the farm to acquire. If Preller was going to do something like that, he needed an ace in return.

King sure looks like that ace, doesn’t he?

In his first career postseason start, King rose to the occasion Tuesday night. He struck out 12 Braves across seven scoreless innings, pitching the Padres to a 4-0 victory in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series at Petco Park.

King became the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out 12 without allowing a run or a walk in his first postseason start. It was precisely the type of outing the Padres dreamed of when they acquired King — even though he never had completed a full season as a starting pitcher.

In the aftermath of that trade, King was asked about the deal by the New York Post. He brazenly stated that he felt the Padres had “won the trade.” At the time, King was panned. It’s not easy to win a trade in which Soto is headed the other direction, after all.

But on a night like this — a night in which fellow trade piece Kyle Higashioka backstopped King’s brilliant performance and launched an insurance home run — it was easy to wonder…

“I guess,” King said afterward, “we’ll see come Halloween.”

Who knows? Maybe King and Soto end up settling that debate on the field in the World Series. It certainly seemed possible on Tuesday. The Padres did precisely what they’ve done for the past 2 1/2 months, as they steamrolled their way to the best record in the Majors since the All-Star break (43-20).

Their offense was feisty. They got a moonshot two-run homer from Fernando Tatis Jr. in the first inning. They played clean defense. And they got another brilliant effort from their starting pitcher. King was chosen for the Game 1 start over Joe Musgrove and Dylan Cease, then lived up to the billing.

“He was fantastic,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “Everything was working.”

Afterward, King spoke of embracing the moment. No, he did not want to make it like any other start. Because this was not any other start. This was Game 1 of the postseason — a postseason in which the belief in San Diego for the city’s first World Series title is perhaps as high as it’s ever been.

“I think feeling that pressure from the start of the game was something that I wanted to use to my advantage and build off of,” King said. “So feeling the crowd noise, knowing how big postseason games are, it all played into my mentality.”

Before the largest crowd in Petco Park history, King started the night in style. He struck out the side in the first, then gave no life to the Braves after Tatis handed him a lead.

“Totally exceeded [expectations],” King said of the crowd. “Pitching in front of them is something that I absolutely love doing. I’m really happy we had home-field for the Wild Card, because it’s a tough place to play as an opponent.”

When King got Gio Urshela to fly to center to end his night, the crowd chanted his name relentlessly. It was the type of moment King had been working toward — the type of start he envisioned, even as the Yankees used him almost exclusively as a reliever.

The Padres can wrap up the series with Musgrove on the mound Wednesday. If not, they’ll turn to Cease — who was acquired in March, with Drew Thorpe as the centerpiece of a trade package. Thorpe also arrived in the Soto trade. As did Higashioka, Randy Vásquez and Jhony Brito.

Of course, the Yankees got precisely what they needed out of Soto, who helped lead them to the top record in the American League. Whatever King said in January, he is keenly aware that trades aren’t so black and white.

“Obviously, I was on that team,” King said in August. “And I knew the lack of bats we had in front of [Aaron] Judge. … So I think it was necessary for the Yankees to trade for him. And I think it’s been huge for our pitching staff to have the depth we have. I think it’s a mutually beneficial trade.”

Give it a few weeks, and there very well might be a winner.