San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt made a somewhat-surprising decision to name Michael King as hi Game 1 starter for the Wild Card round against the Atlanta Braves. Shildt's decision paid off in a major way, with King leading the Padres to a 4-0 win.

King dominated the vaunted Braves lineup, pitching seven scoreless innings while allowing just five hits and striking out 12, and made some history along the way. King became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to have 12 strikeouts with no runs and no walks in their first career postseason start.

Many would have expected the Padres to go with ace Dylan Cease, the always-steady Joe Musgrove or the experienced Yu Darvish over King, who made his postseason debut on Tuesday. However, King has been the Padres' hottest pitcher, and Shildt's decision to ride the hot hand ended up being the correct call.

Because of King's incredible performance, the Padres are now able to avoid a win-or-go-home situation in Game 2 and have a close-to fully rested bullpen. That is a huge advantage over the Braves, who are coming off of a doubleheader on Monday and have an incredibly depleted pitching staff, including an injured Chris Sale, who is not on the Wild Card round roster.

Michael King's incredible 2024 season for the San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres pitcher Michael King (34) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the fifth inning in game one of the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Petco Park.
© Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
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Expectations were high heading into the season for King, who was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Juan Soto to the New York Yankees. King pitched just about as well as anyone could have hoped for. Through 30 starts, King went 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA and 201 strikeouts.

King was especially dominant in the second half of the season, recording a 2.15 ERA and leading the surging Padres to the first National League Wild Card spot. With King's emergence, the Padres have one of the top pitching staffs in all of baseball, making them a dark horse World Series pick by many experts.

It was difficult to imagine the Padres making it back to the postseason in a loaded NL West after trading away Soto, one of the best players in all of baseball. However, because of the way King has played, the Padres did not just make the postseason, but are in as good a position as they have ever been to win the first World Series in their organization's history.

Based on the way King played in his postseason debut, if the Padres are able to advance to the NLDS King will likely continue to play a huge role.