Starting pitcher works five scoreless innings, navigates some command issues as part of build-up for postseason
CHICAGO — This was a step in the right direction, which was almost all the Padres were really looking for from Michael King on Sunday. “Felt good,” King said. “Still, the timing of my mechanics are a little weird.
But definitely a much better step than my last one. So I was happy, and I owe Morejón a lot of love.” It was Adrian Morejón who took over with the bases loaded in the sixth inning after King’s third four-pitch walk of the day and preserved a scoreless outing for King in what ended up a 3-2 victory over the White Sox. It was the kind of volatile day that could be expected of a pitcher making his fourth start in four months and just his third in succession. King began the season with a 2.59 ERA through 10 starts but then was on the injured list from mid-May through the first week of August due to a nerve impingement near his right shoulder. He was activated for a start on Aug. 9, but he was bothered in that outing by knee soreness and was placed on the injured list again. He returned again a month later and allowed the Reds two runs in five innings before having the worst start of his career on Tuesday in New York against the Mets. “I’ve got a lot to prove in my next one,” he said that night after surrendering eight runs in three innings.Aside from getting a victory that got the Padres closer to clinching a playoff spot, Sunday was about the way King was able to navigate his outing. “Could you say Mike is still in a little bit of a spring training mode? Could be,” pitching coach Ruben Niebla said earlier in the weekend. “And it’s gonna get better as we go. I think we feel confident about that.” Niebla said success on Sunday would be if King “moves forward.” The results were secondary to how the ball looked “coming out of his hand” and the movement on his pitches. King threw 70 pitches and was for much of the game sharp enough with his fastball, sweeper and especially his changeup. That was good enough to, despite his bouts of wildness, mostly dominate a lineup that featured five players who made their big-league debuts earlier this season. King hit the first batter in the first inning and walked the second batter before getting out of that jam with a five-pitch strikeout and a double play grounder on the first pitch he threw to Miguel Vargas. A single and a walk had King in the same predicament in the second inning. It took him just five pitches to escape this time — on a three-pitch strikeout and two fly balls on the first pitch of at-bats. Another walk followed in the third inning, and King had thrown 16 strikes and 16 balls to the 11 batters he faced to that point.In the fourth inning, 13 of his 14 pitches were strikes. In the fifth, seven of his 10 pitches were strikes. A pair of soft singles started the sixth before King walked his fourth batter of the day to end his day. In totality, it was just what he and the Padres needed going into his final start of the season, which will likely be Friday against the Diamondbacks. “It definitely got a little bit better,” King said. “The third, fourth, fifth inning were probably the best ones. Got into the rhythm of the game. Still, at times I would lose it a little bit mechanically. So I just gotta hone in on that and be ready to go.”“As a rehab guy, you’re out there cheering on your team, but you’re not part of the competition,” he said. “That’s the aspect of the game that almost comes back last. And I’ve been really trying to lock in, like, even in between my starts just to make sure that I’m focused on the game and back in that competitive mode instead of that rehab mode. It’s definitely a process, but we gotta turn it on here. I’m definitely getting close.” The 30-year-old right-hander,who the Padres expected to help them so much this season, can still help them immensely. They are counting on it, in fact. He is the presumptive starter in Game 2 of their wild-card series after Nick Pivetta starts Game 1. “I’m confident in Michael going forward,” Shildt said after Sunday’s game. “It’s a matter of competing and allowing him to work through some things. To his credit, he some intestinal fortitude to get through the first and the second with some jams and keep them clean. And then hit his stride. Those guys, they need to get those touches and to get on the mound, get those touches. And you could tell he was starting to feel good about what he was doing and repeating everything he was doing.”Open house for Terminal 1 a letdown and maybe a warning signSan Diego airport’s new Terminal 1 is about to open. It had no choice but to build a bigger facility. San Diego airport’s new Terminal 1 is about to open. It had no choice but to build a bigger facility.Oceanside drops plan to protect residential tenantsMore flight delays at San Diego airport following temporary shutdown
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