Michael King ended up being the arm the Padres could not afford to lose - or, more accurately, the one they had to lean on when everything else started peeling away.
San Diego’s season was hanging by a thread after Jake Cronenworth’s solo homer put the Padres in front in the fifth inning last night, but the real issue came immediately after: who was going to finish the job? The Padres entered the night with the best bullpen in baseball during the regular season, yet they were suddenly down two of their biggest late-inning weapons. Adrian Morejon reported a stiff shoulder after playing catch on Monday, and Mason Miller landed on the paternity list less than an hour before first pitch.
That left manager Craig Stammen with a thin margin for error in an elimination game. It got even thinner when starter Nick Pivetta ran into trouble in the fifth and Stammen had to go to the bullpen early.
Jason Adam was first up, and his night went sideways fast. He recorded only one out, allowed the tying run, and exited after loading the bases.
Yuki Matsui cleaned up that mess, then got the first two outs of the sixth after Cronenworth’s homer had restored the Padres’ lead in the bottom of the fifth. Bradgley Rodriguez followed and handled the next four outs. By the time the eighth inning arrived, San Diego had reached the point where one more stop felt like a small miracle.
That’s when Michael King stepped in.
King, the Padres’ top starter, had thrown 72 pitches only two days earlier in Game 2 against Milwaukee, but he told Stammen he was available if the bullpen needed help. The answer was yes, badly.
King worked a scoreless eighth, then came back out for the ninth and finished the game with the save. He did let the tying run get into scoring position, and he nearly watched the whole thing slip away after walking consecutive batters in the ninth, but he induced a double play to end it.
In all, he threw 40 pitches on one day’s rest.
King’s rescue act wasn’t polished, but it was exactly what San Diego needed in the moment. He even noted that he would normally have thrown a bullpen session Tuesday anyway to stay loose between starts, which is part of why he didn’t view the assignment as some impossible ask.
“I have bullets in my arm that I don’t want to save,” King told reporters after the game. “You’re in an elimination game, you want everybody to be all-in on it.
Not just me included. We have a bunch of dogs down there that are all-in.”
King’s willingness to jump in also carried a bit of old familiarity. He worked out of the bullpen earlier in his career with the Yankees, and on this night he looked every bit like someone comfortable handling the late innings when the season demanded it.
The Padres get another do-or-die game tonight, with Walker Buehler set to start. Miller and Morejon remain question marks, and King said he wants the ball again if the club needs him.
Elsewhere last night, Kiké Hernández opened the scoring against the Braves with a homer, his 17th career postseason homer and the third-most ever by a player from Puerto Rico. Gavin McKenna, 18 and the first pick in this year’s draft, scored his first career NHL goal.
Xander Bogaerts used sharp baserunning to score on a chaotic play and add an insurance run for the Padres. Juuse Saros made a save on a 3-on-0 chance for the Maple Leafs in overtime, though Toronto scored in the final seconds of OT to win it.
And Brewers manager Pat Murphy had a memorable reaction while being interviewed by Tom Verducci as Jackson Merrill robbed Milwaukee of an extra-base hit.
Tonight’s schedule features Guardians-White Sox at 4 p.m. ET on TBS, with Chicago trying to clinch its first ALCS berth since 2005, the year of its last World Series title.
Dodgers-Braves follows at 6 p.m. ET on FS1, with the Braves sending trade-deadline addition Tyler Mahle to the mound against Tyler Glasnow as the Dodgers chase a third straight NLCS trip.
Rays-Yankees is set for 8 p.m. ET on TBS, and New York will turn to Max Fried, who is 5-1 with a 1.81 ERA in seven career games against Tampa Bay, to try to avoid elimination.
Brewers-Padres closes the baseball slate at 10 p.m. ET on FS1, with Milwaukee looking to end a 12-game postseason road losing streak.
In the WNBA, Liberty-Dream is at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, with Allisha Gray out because of a finger injury, and Aces-Valkyries is at 9:30 p.m.
ET on Peacock, where A’ja Wilson and the Aces will try to avoid falling behind 0-2 in the semifinals.
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Chourio then showed up again in Game 2, this time delivering the walk-off single that sent the Brewers home with another victory and a 2-0 lead in the NLDS. In a series where the smallest details have already mattered, the roof call from the opener suddenly looks like more than a footnote for Milwaukee. [Read more 🡒]