The Padres ended August with a clean, convincing 5-0 win over the Reds on Monday night, and Michael King was right in the middle of it. He turned in six shutout innings, allowed four hits and struck out six, giving San Diego the kind of steady outing that lets the lineup settle in and take over.
The offense did plenty of the rest. San Diego piled up 15 hits, with Manny Machado collecting four of them and Ty France adding three. Xander Bogarets drove in two runs as the Padres put together a game that looked sharp from top to bottom.
The night also brought roster news. After the game, it was reported that the Padres were set to call up top prospect Ethan Salas when rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Tuesday. Salas started the season in Double-A and will be just 20 years old when he makes his MLB debut.
There was also a familiar name back in the conversation. Former Padre Nick Castellanos resurfaced in the news cycle after nearly three months of silence since his release.
On the field, King’s work continued a strong season. The right-hander recorded his 15th quality start of the year, which is a career high after he had 14 in 2024. He has accounted for 15 of the Padres’ 32 quality starts this season.
Manager Craig Stammen also opened up about a challenge that has only gotten tougher: keeping Manny Machado managed through multiple injuries after another demanding season. Stammen said before the year that he would give Machado more days off, but that hasn’t really played out.
“It’s also my job to take care of him,” Stammen said. “He’s not gonna come up to me like, ‘Hey, I need a day off.’
… They don’t need to do that. I gotta be the person that understands situations a little better.”
“I think, for me, like seeing how these games seem to be more important than the games - just like the perception, and in reality too, everybody starts looking at standings now - it’s very hard to give guys days off at this time of the year and feel good about not putting our best team out there,” he added. “Now that I feel that in a different role, hopefully I can manage the season overall a little bit better.”
Before Monday’s win, the Padres also announced that utility man Luis Rengifo suffered a torn ACL and a sprain of the MCL. That ends his 2026 campaign and is expected to keep him out for a good chunk of 2027 as well.
“He gave us a little bit of the spark that we were looking for,” Stammen said. “He’s a player that had done that in the past.
You don’t know if that past is still in him or not. He showed that he still had it in him, proved that he was a very valuable part of our team.
We’re going to definitely miss him.”
The Reds are scheduled to send left-hander Brandon Williamson, who is 2-3 with a 6.11 ERA and currently on the 60-day IL, to the mound on Wednesday.
In Other News...
Padres Just Lost Their Place In MLB Ownership History
For a stretch, the Padres could point to their place in the state rivalry and the broader business of baseball as one of the more notable franchises in Southern California. Now the record book has shifted again, with the Angels set to be sold to Stan Kroenkes Kroenke Sports & Entertainment for $4 billion, a valuation that resets the high-water mark for an MLB franchise sale. The deal, expected to close in 2027, adds another major piece to Kroenkes growing sports portfolio.
For San Diego, the headline is less about the Angels than the changing economics around the sport. The Padres have spent recent years navigating an increasingly competitive landscape in which ownership clout matters almost as much as payroll, and a new benchmark this large only underlines how much the industry has changed. Kroenke already controls several pro teams across different leagues, and this latest move only deepens the sense that baseballs power structure is becoming even more concentrated. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Suddenly Have 2 Surprise Award Cases In The Stretch Run
The late-season stretch has given the Padres something they did not necessarily have circled back in spring: a pair of award cases that are starting to gain real traction. MLB insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic projects Mason Miller to take home the National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award, pointing to a dominant run in the back end of San Diegos bullpen. Miller has paired a 1.26 ERA across 55 appearances with 32 saves, production that has made him one of the defining arms in the leagues final months.
There is also a quieter but potentially bigger storyline around Craig Stammen, who is in his first year managing the Padres and has helped steer the club into playoff position. Bowdens prediction has Stammen as the National League Manager of the Year, a nod to how the team has stayed in the race under his watch. Both projections still depend on San Diego finishing strong, which leaves the Padres with more than one reason to pay close attention to the final weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Fernando Tatis Jr. Is Suddenly Carrying The Padres When It Matters Most
Fernando Tatis Jr. has turned August into a reminder of why the Padres still view him as the face of their lineup. After an uneven first four months, he caught fire with nine home runs and a .901 OPS over 27 games, giving San Diego a much-needed lift as the calendar has tightened and the race has gotten more serious.
The timing could hardly be better for a club trying to hang onto a small lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National Leagues third Wild Card spot. Tatis had only eight homers through the end of July, which made the turnaround even more important for a Padres offense that needed someone to take charge when the pressure started to build. [Read more 🡒]