Padres Rout Cubs 8-0 in Wild Card Opener Behind King

The Padres opened the Wild Card Series with an 8-0 dismantling of the Cubs at Petco Park, and the game was decided on the mound. Michael King was dominant across seven innings, allowing one hit and no runs with eight strikeouts and three walks. Chicago managed just one hit all night and never threatened.

Our premium pick: We sold the Cubs as the value side, projecting a 4.3-3.9 Chicago win with the run line and moneyline both leaning to the visitors. That was a clean miss. The Cubs moneyline and the +1.5 run line both lost — the run line by the full eight runs. The one piece that landed was the total: the over 7.5 cashed comfortably, with San Diego alone clearing the number.

Prop results:

• Pete Crow-Armstrong over 1.5 total bases (+115): Lost. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts, finishing with zero total bases.
• Ian Happ under 0.5 hits (-107): Won. Happ was hitless in three at-bats with a walk.
• Michael Busch over 0.5 walks (+159): Won. Busch drew one walk in his four plate appearances.

Takeaway: This was a reminder that a static line can reflect sharp agreement rather than an edge, and that a pitcher's surface ERA can undersell how he actually performs in a big spot. King's dominance flipped our read on the game's shape entirely. For Game 2, the lesson is to weigh recent form and matchup pressure more heavily when a line refuses to move on a playoff stage.