NL WILD CARD SERIES: CUBS VS PADRES

September 29, 2026

Michael King

Petco Park

San Diego Padres

Postgame Press Conference

Padres - 8, Cubs - 0

Q. Your last two postseason starts have been pretty good.

MICHAEL KING: What was my last postseason start? Come on now.

Q. You didn't start that game.

MICHAEL KING: No, my last postseason start was at --

Q. Your last two Wild Card starts have been incredible.

MICHAEL KING: There we go.

Q. Just put it in perspective what this means to you to sort of be this big-game guy.

MICHAEL KING: I always feel like I like the adrenaline, I like the pressure. It gives me confidence knowing that the team has confidence in me to pitch in these games. But then when you have our superstars show out like that in the bottom of the first, it makes it a lot easier.

Q. You hit 98 in the first inning. That's like your fastest pitch in a few years. A couple sweepers. Did you know in the first inning like, okay, I've got it tonight?

MICHAEL KING: Yeah, everything felt pretty good. I mean, they're a team that fastball execution was huge because we needed to get them to chase, and they don't chase often unless you actually can locate the fastball. So I was able to locate first pitch of the game and then went straight to the chase and was able to get PCA to do that.

I think that the execution then comes from having the confidence in locations that I'm getting to and then knowing that Campy and I did a ton of homework to make sure we're going to the right zones.

Q. The way it looked in that first inning, at least for us, was kind of like a wave, like the crowd setting you guys up, and then your top half of the first and then the bottom with the two home runs. What did it kind of feel like on the field with the environment the way it was and with everything kind of rolling in that direction?

MICHAEL KING: Honestly, hard to stay locked in in the bottom of the first. Obviously I celebrated my guys hitting homers, but I also have a job to do. So hard to stay dialed in on what I was doing because it was an absolutely electric atmosphere.

Locked right back in, and like I said, went straight back to the scouting report and executed the game plan.

Q. Did you have no-hitter on the mind?

MICHAEL KING: Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Q. What's the reaction, ball goes down the third base line, what's that like?

MICHAEL KING: I already yelled at Plawecki for having a PitchCom issue. I'm going to blame him for it. No. Good hitter, got to a good pitch. There were also probably four other balls that were hit pretty hard that we were defensively placed pretty well. Tati made a really good play on a ball. Croney made a really good play on a ball.

So I wouldn't say that I felt like I had no-hit stuff, but when you're going out in the seventh with a no-hitter, you definitely are thinking about it.

Q. A moment like this, a game like this, everything external, the energy, that can work against a guy as well. Is there anything you've learned that's allowed you to harness it in a healthier, more productive manner?

MICHAEL KING: I don't know if harness is the correct word. I want as much adrenaline as possible. I always felt like, even throughout Little League, when I had some adrenaline, they were my better games.

I know I said it the other day, Tom Brady's line of, if you can execute under pressure, you're going to be a great player. So I always wanted to execute under pressure. With the crowd going nuts up against a team that is first in runs scored in baseball, obviously postseason baseball, I know it's not win or go home yet, but most every game you feel like it's win or go home. So that pressure, that adrenaline definitely makes me lock in a little bit more.

Q. How would you describe what we just witnessed with Joe Musgrove?

MICHAEL KING: I mean, I was emotional out there. I never go back out to the field after I'm done pitching, but as soon as I saw him warming up, I had to go back out there to watch it. He means so much to this team and this city. To see the grind of rehab that he's had to go through for two straight years, I mean, it was awesome.

To then get out of a bases-loaded jam, that's the big-game Joe we all know and love. I fully expect him to keep going throughout this postseason.

Q. When I was talking to you yesterday, I was half joking about the complete game thing, but what is your mentality when you're kind of coming into a game? Is there a moment in the pregame where you're like, okay, I really feel like I'm going to have a good outing?

MICHAEL KING: I don't really hold a lot of weight on my pregame. I've had some terrible bullpens that then turn out to be really good starts. I've had some bullpens where I can't miss a spot and go out there and walk the bases loaded.

It's really just staying locked into the game plan and the execution, and when it starts to roll, I almost want the offense to slow down a little bit just to let me keep going back out there. But obviously I'm going to take as many runs as I possibly can.

It's really just trying to keep the innings as short as possible when I'm out there and sticking in that routine.

Q. You've seen a lot of big moments from Fernando Tatis. What was more impressive, watching him hit the leadoff home run on the first pitch or scoring from second on a stolen base attempt?

MICHAEL KING: I don't know, first pitch change-up too, so you got to have some stones to hit first pitch change-up first pitch of the game. Obviously that made the crowd go crazy.

Then showing off all aspects of his athleticism. Had a bag easy, and then I don't know how many guys in the league can score on that one.

Gave us a little bit of insurance runs, and yeah, he did that all himself. He's a treat to watch.

Q. And Pivetta said in pregame that Musgrove has helped you guys even behind the scenes. Can you just talk about how he's helped this pitching staff even though he hasn't been able to pitch?

MICHAEL KING: He's still locked in. He still comes on a ton of road trips. I mean, we almost thought he was going to come back a month or so ago, and seeing him -- honestly just seeing him grind is inspirational to all of us. He obviously -- he's probably the hardest working guy I've ever played with, and he's out there doing it for two straight years without being able to compete, and I think that's really hard to keep a level head throughout it. That definitely translates to the rest of the staff.

Q. I know you made all your starts this year, a year ago, but like a year ago you were only able to give an inning. This is sort of a full-circle thing. Did you think about that at all before or now, and what does it mean to you to be able to contribute in this way when you weren't?

MICHAEL KING: Not really, I didn't really think about it. Coming into a start like this, I know that we've had some ups and downs this year, me included, but it doesn't matter until you hit October. Last year it wasn't the role that I wanted to have, but I wanted to give the best inning or innings or whatever I was called on. Today was no different.

Q. Seventh inning, Hoerner gets the infield single to break up the no-no, and you respond by punching out the next two guys. How important is it for you when this happens to come right back and say I'm finishing as strongly as I can?

MICHAEL KING: That's where the anger comes into the adrenaline. Obviously I have a ton of adrenaline coming into playoff games, and then I get a little mad that I wasn't able to do it. It's continuing to go back to the execution, but I think I probably upticked in fastball velo a little bit.

Yeah, I did not want to have Stammen make a hard decision. I wanted to finish that inning.

Q. With the extra adrenaline or the extra velo, is that extra days off, adrenaline, or both?

MICHAEL KING: Adrenaline. I'd like to be in the bullpen tomorrow, and I feel like I could probably hit 98 tomorrow. Adrenaline is a crazy drug, and I'm looking forward to it for the next five weeks.

Q. Commenting on your great performance tonight, we saw Manny's reaction after that infield hit. What did he tell you after that play, after that inning?

MICHAEL KING: I thanked him for the effort. I mean, Hoerner's a burner, so I don't think he would have had a shot anyways. Manny knew what was going on, and I guess there's probably no other third baseman that could make that throw.

If he made a clean transfer, made that play, I feel like that's the play of a no-hitter, and I probably would have been pretty excited for the rest of it. Manny is a stud out there, and it was just one of those balls that found enough of a hole.

Q. You didn't utilize your change-up as often as you normally do. Why was that the approach against these Cubs hitters?

MICHAEL KING: A lot of the lefties don't have much swing-and-miss to the change-up. Also, five righties in the lineup is the most I've had all year. I think I threw two to righties, and a lot of the lefties even had holes to spin.

It was really pitching to the scouting report. I also felt like it wasn't phenomenal in the first couple innings. So I didn't want to go to what was my fourth or fifth best pitch that day. Found it towards the later inning, so I think I was able to get a couple punch-outs in that last inning on it. For the most part, it was just going to the scouting report.

Q. How good does deliver one like this feels, especially after everything that has happened this year? Your position, especially for you, but in the position, how good does delivering this win in the first round feels?

MICHAEL KING: I know that there's crazy stats on winning Game 1 of a Wild Card. So I think we had a lot of emphasis on making sure we took care of Game 1. We got 12 more wins to go, and it's just the start.

We've got to keep the momentum going into tomorrow and make sure that we're all dialed in on the next 12 instead of just celebrating this one.