Michael King took the mound for the San Diego Padres in the final game of the three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium looking to help his team win the series. King was not at his best, but he was good enough to hold the Angels scoreless over five innings before leaving the game with a 1-0 lead. The right-hander labored through his start thanks to four walks, but he made pitches to get out of trouble. King finished with six strikeouts and just one hit allowed en route to a 2-1
win.
The San Diego offense thought Reid Detmers was going to be on the mound for Los Angeles, but prior to the start of the game the Padres learned Walbert Urena would start for the Angels in what was expected to be a bullpen game for the home team. By the time Urena walked off the mound he had completed six innings and worked into the seventh, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He was charged with a second run to close the books on his outing when reliever Sam Bachman allowed an inherited runner to score in the seventh to give the Padres a 2-0 lead.
San Diego scored the first run of the game in the top of the fourth inning when Xander Bogaerts singled through the middle of the infield to score Fernando Tatis Jr. who singled to right field to start the inning. The Padres held a 1-0 lead when they scored their second run of the game in the top of the seventh when Bryce Johnson singled to left field which allowed Bogaerts to score from second base. Johnson was 2-for-3 in the game with a single, a double, an RBI and stolen base.
The Angels broke through against Kyle Hart in the bottom of the seventh inning. Los Angeles had runners at second and third with one out after an Adam Frazier sacrifice bunt. Zach Neto grounded out to shortstop, which brought a run home to cut the San Diego lead to 2-1. Hart was replaced on the mound by Bradgley Rodriguez who was able to get out of the inning without any additional damage. Rodriguez returned to the mound for the eighth inning and worked a scoreless frame to maintain the one-run lead.
The Padres were unable to add any runs in the top of the ninth, which meant Mason Miller came in to handle the bottom of the ninth. The right-hander earned his eighth save of the season striking out two of the three batters he faces to secure the win for San Diego.
The Padres are off on Monday, but return to action against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver on Tuesday at 5:40 p.m.
