Manny Machado also homered in the first inning and added an RBI double in the third during an emphatic opening statement by the 91-win Padres. Xander Bogaerts also homered off Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, and Jackson Merrill added a two-run single later.

San Diego provided more than enough support for King, who struck out eight over seven stellar innings while thoroughly throttling the majors’ highest-scoring team. King set the tone by striking out probable NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong with the first three pitches.

“It gives me confidence knowing the team has confidence in me to pitch in these games,” King said. “But then when you have our superstars showing out like that in the bottom of the first, it makes it a lot easier.”

Nico Hoerner got the Cubs’ only hit off King with a one-out infield single in the seventh, but King racked up two more strikeouts to earn the last of several standing ovations from the raucous sellout crowd watching his third career playoff start.

“The crowd was awesome,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “They had a lot to cheer about tonight, and we didn’t give them anything to be quiet about.”

YANKEES 9, RED SOX 0

NEW YORK — Cam Schlittler pitched another playoff gem against Boston, and Ben Rice also burned their hometown team with a late grand slam and six RBIs as New York opened this Wild Card Series rematch with a 9-0 victory.

With the Yankees minus star slugger Aaron Judge because of a calf injury, Rice homered twice, doubled and finished with four hits to power the offense. No. 9 batter Austin Wells drove in two runs for New York, and 21-year-old rookie George Lombard Jr. had three hits in his postseason debut.

Rice and Schlittler were both raised among Red Sox fans in Massachusetts and went to college in New England before getting plucked by the Yankees out of Boston’s backyard in baseball’s amateur draft.

WHITE SOX 6, ASTROS 3

HOUSTON — Colson Montgomery hit a solo homer and Sam Antonacci drove in two runs to lead Chicago over Houston in Game 1 of an AL Wild Card Series.

The White Sox, in the postseason for the first time since 2021, made a remarkable turnaround this year to become the only team in major league history to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth. They had lost 100 games three straight seasons, including 121 defeats in 2024, setting the record for most losses since 1899.

The White Sox led 3-0 after two innings and held on for their first playoff win since Oct. 10, 2021 in the ALDS against Houston.

Houston had runners on first and third with two outs in the eighth after singles by Jeremy Peña and MVP-favorite Yordan Alvarez when Jose Altuve reached and Peña scored on an error by third baseman Miguel Vargas to cut the lead to 6-3.