SAN DIEGO (AP) — Michael King made his postseason debut for the New York Yankees in the AL playoff bubble during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season at eerily empty Petco Park, where the only “fans” were a few thousand cardboard cutouts. He pitched two innings in a loss in Game 3 in a Division Series that Tampa Bay won in five games. The right-hander will get the full playoff blast on Tuesday night when he starts for the Padres at sold-out Petco Park in the opener of a best-of-three Wild Card Series against Atlanta.
The Braves clinched a berth by winning the second game of a makeup doubleheader against the New York Mets on Monday. “I can't wait to see this place in the playoffs," King said. "Obviously, I did see it in the playoffs, but nobody was in the crowd and nobody wanted either the Yankees or the Rays to win.
But the fans here are absolutely nuts and I am very excited to see what we can bring." The Padres drew a club-record 3,314,593 fans to the downtown ballpark, with 56 sellouts in 80 games (they gave up a home game to play a two-game opening series in Seoul, South Korea, against the Los Angeles Dodgers). King (13-9, 2.
95 ERA) came over in the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees on Dec. 7. He is one of several new players who have helped give the Padres a different vibe than the 2023 squad, which had baseball's third-highest opening day payroll yet responded with the most disappointing season in club history.
The Padres are back in the playoffs.