“Stayed in the strike zone. Got some swing and miss. Felt pretty good.”
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King throws during the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Peoria, Ariz. PEORIA, Ariz.
— For late February, it’s oddly warm to start Cactus League action, so Michael King certainly broke into a sweat Wednesday afternoon.Figuratively, the 30-year-old breezed through two innings in his Cactus League debut so much so that he came out for a third frame. That didn’t go nearly as well, but getting a jump start on building his stamina was the point as King looks put last year’s injury-riddled season behind him.The only hits that King surrendered were after retiring the first six batters on 23 pitches. The Angels’ Christian Moore led off the third inning with a solo homer to left. Raudi Rodriguez also singled between two strikeouts before Alek Jacob was called on for the last out of the third inning. King struck out four, didn’t walk anyone and threw 26 of his 37 pitches for strikes. Because his last live bullpen was a 35-pitch session, King expected to throw that many pitches in his first game action of the spring, but his efficiency allowed him to get up and down three times to truly begin building his endurance. “Ups are very important,” King said. “I think the soreness almost comes after multiple ups instead of multiple pitches. So happy to go three and recover and get ready for next one.” Wednesday’s workload should allow King to push to 45 to 50 pitches and four to five innings in his next start.“He pitched great; looked really good,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “We had him scheduled for at least two and then he looked so good, we let him go out there for the third. So a lot of good work for him today. Looks healthy. Threw the ball great.”UC San Diego students rejoice after university restores 24-hour access to Geisel LibraryTom Krasovic: Former manager Bud Black is again a piece of Padres’ ‘puzzle’Handed a lifeline, Aztecs can climb back into first place with a win vs. Utah StatePadres see signs they might actually have length in the lineup
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