Michael

King

King gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three. King allowed a home run to Mookie Betts in the first inning that was almost robbed by Jurickson Profar, which would’ve been the second time he robbed Betts of a home run in two games. Staked to a 6-1 lead in the third inning, King then gave up a grand slam to Teoscar Hernandez on a hanging breaking pitch. King settled down to get through five innings without any further damage and turned the game over to the Padres bullpen to preserve his second win of the postseason so far.

King gave up five hits, walked none and struck out 12. He was excellent. The Padres traded Juan Soto last offseason because they needed pitching and payroll flexibility. King was the headliner in the package going to San Diego and he’s delivered in his first season with the Padres and as a full-time starting pitcher in general.

Musgrove is getting moved ahead of Cease here, which is a little surprising. This will put King on six days’ rest, Musgrove on five and Cease on seven, if Game 3 is necessary.

They’ll go with Randy Vásquez on Saturday and Martín Pérez on Sunday. As a result, King ends the regular season 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA. He’ll likely join Dylan Cease and Joe Musgrove as the Padres’ slated starters in their home Wild Card series.

The Padres could yet win the NL West if they sweep the Dodgers here, but they’ll be playing in October regardless. They won tonight on a 5-4-3 triple play after the Dodgers picked up three straight hits to begin the bottom of the ninth. King moved to 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA. The Padres could start him again on Sunday, but it seems more likely that he’ll be saved for the postseason.

We’ll see what October holds, but the Padres couldn’t possibly have asked for anything more from King through 5 1/2 months after making him the primary return in the Juan Soto deal. He has a 3.04 ERA and 198 strikeouts over 168 2/3 innings through 30 starts. He’ll probably make his final regular-season start against the Dodgers on Tuesday.

King fired two scoreless frames before a hit batter and a walk put two runners on in the third. An error and two hits would bring three runs in to score for the Mariners, two charged as unearned runs. King would toss two more scoreless innings, ending his day after five with six strikeouts. The 29-year-old right-hander will take a 3.06 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and a 191/60 K/BB ratio across 161 2/3 innings into a start against the Astros in San Diego on Tuesday.

King blanked the Giants until giving up a solo homer to Michael Conforto in the sixth. The right-handed hurler was able to get through the rest of the inning unscatched, and it’s another strong outing for the former Yankee starter. King now has an ERA of 3.10 that is complemented by a 184/58 K/BB over 156 2/3 frames. He should be in lineups for a rematch with the Giants next week.

While King was hurt by his defense, he also hurt himself by not showing any efficiency. He allowed six hits and four walks, and he was pulled after throwing 103 pitches with one out in the fifth. He did strike out three, and the 4 1/3 “scoreless” frames lower his ERA to a strong 3.05. He gets the Tigers on Wednesday.

King surrendered a run-scoring double to Pete Alonso in the opening frame, which wound up being the lone earned run against him as all of the damage in the fourth inning, which came courtesy of Francisco Lindor’s grand slam, was unearned due to a two-out fielding error by third baseman Manny Machado. It’s a nice break for fantasy managers as it spares their ratios from an even more significant hit. He struck out seven and only issued three walks. The 29-year-old righty has solidified his status as a top 30 fantasy starter heading into drafts next spring with a strong 3.14 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 174/53 K/BB ratio across 146 1/3 innings (26 appearances, 25 starts) in his Padres debut. He’ll square off against the Cardinals on Thursday at Busch Stadium.