Michael King struck out 11 batters in five shutout innings as the Padres’ 7-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians improved their record to 6-0 in the best start in franchise history.

It was the sixth time King reached double digits in strikeouts in his career. He set a career high with 13 strikeouts in a game when he was with the Yankees in 2023.

King got through five innings on 88 pitches – up 12 pitches from his Opening Day start – and allowed only one walk. He only got through 2-2/3 innings and walked four batters in his first start of the season.

Jeremiah Estrada, Yuki Matsui, Jason Adam and MLB debutant Omar Cruz combined for four scoreless innings in relief as the Padres’ combined bullpen ERA dropped to 0.45.

The Padres scored in each inning that they hit from the fourth inning on.

Jackson Merrill’s fourth-inning homer put the Padres on the board. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a sac fly and Luis Arraez knocked in a run in the fifth inning to give San Diego a 3-0 lead. Jake Cronenworth added the Padres’ fourth run on a pinch-hit single in the sixth.

Tatis, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts each stole a base in the seventh inning and scored two more runs to add to their lead after the Guardians defense committed two throwing errors.

The Padres took advantage of another error by the Guardians in the eighth inning that allowed Cronenworth and Jason Heyward to advance to second and third base with one out for Tatis, who recorded an RBI groundout.

Up next: The Padres finish their season-opening homestand looking for their second straight sweep to begin the season at 1:10 p.m. Wednesday. Right-hander Dylan Cease gets his second start of the season against Cleveland right-hander Ben Lively.