It was a disappointing end to what looked like a solid start from San Diego Padres pitcher Michael King. The right-hander cruised through the first three innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers allowing just one run over that time. Manny Machado homered in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1, but when King returned to the mound in the top of the fifth inning, he could not locate his pitches and the result was a three-run inning that resulted in a 4-2 loss for San Diego.
King opened
the top of the fifth with a walk to the No. 9 batter Alex Freeland. He then caught a lineout on a bunt attempt from Chuckie Robinson but followed that with another walk to Shohei Ohtani. King hit Andy Pages for the second time in the game to load the bases and then walked Freddy Freeman on a nine-pitch at-bat. The ninth pitch was close to the bottom of the zone on the inside corner but neither King nor Rodolfo Duran challenged the call, and Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead. What proved to be the game-winning hit and the end of the day for King came on a two-run single by Mookie Betts which pushed the lead to 4-1. Yuki Matsui relieved King and got Max Muncy to pop out and Tommy Edman to ground out to end the inning.
The Padres cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jackson Merrill singled to start the inning, and Machado hit a deep flyball to center that looked like a two-run home run off the bat. It was caught on the warning track by Pages. Gavin Sheets struck out for the second out of the inning, but not before Merrill stole second base. Xander Bogaerts singled following a pitching change and drove in Merrill to make the score, 4-2. Miguel Andujar was then hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second, but Sung-Mun Song struck out to end the inning and strand the runners.
San Diego threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning after Machado doubled to open the frame. Ty France, who pinch-hit for Sheets, was then hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with no outs. Bogaerts struck out and Andujar grounded into a double play to end the threat and the inning. The Padres brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning after Freddy Fermin worked a one-out walk, but Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded into a double play on the first pitch of the at-bat to end the inning and the game.
King finished his day after 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on three hits with four walks and five strikeouts. Matsui, Jason Adam and Wandy Peralta pitched 4.2 scoreless innings to give San Diego a chance to come back in the game, but the Padres failed to take advantage of scoring opportunities and finished a disappointing 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
San Diego is on the road today to open a series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field at 5:05 p.m.
Padres News:
- The Padres lost the series to the Dodgers but won the homestand 4-2 thanks to a sweep of the Atlanta Braves. The San Diego offense seems to be trending up according to Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball who recaps the week that was.
- Bradgley Rodriguez was being used a lot out of the bullpen for the Padres and when they saw an opportunity to get him some time off to keep him healthy for the rest of the season, they took it. After some rest he returned to the mound for Double-A San Antonio.
- The Padres elite bullpen is drawing comparisons to one of the dominant bullpens of the past.
- It is never fun to lose to a division rival, but Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune believes the Padres have more at stake against Wild Card contenders like their next opponent.
- San Diego and Los Angeles are so close geographically that it’s easy for opposing fans to travel back and forth for the games. Dodgers fans made the trip to Petco Park this weekend and it did not go unnoticed by the Padres players.
- The Padres re-signed Nick Solak to a minor league deal after he opted out of his contract earlier this week.
Baseball News:
- The Boston Red Sox walked off the New York Yankees to complete a four-game sweep.
- Junior Caminero hit his seventh home run in six games and led the Tampa Bay Rays to a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
- Kyle Schwarber hit a seventh inning home run to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the New York Mets.
- The Chicago Cubs held on for a 4-3, 10-inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
- Robbie Ray pitched eight innings to lead the San Francisco Giants past the Atlanta Braves, 3-2.
- Former Padre Tommy Pham signed a minor league deal with the Phillies.
