ANAHEIM -- The Padres are the hottest team in baseball.
Their eight-game winning streak came to an end on Friday night. But no matter -- they won the final two games of their three-game weekend series against the Angels, including a tense 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Here’s some instant reaction from Angel Stadium:
King figuring it out, but making it work
Michael King’s outing was a grind on Sunday afternoon. He needed 105 pitches to make it through five innings. He walked four.
And yet … King pitched scoreless ball across those five innings. He lowered his ERA to 2.28 this season.
The truth is King hasn’t been all that sharp this season. He’s missing far too many spots. He’s making life difficult on himself by putting himself in bad counts and tricky situations. So it’s a compliment to him that he’s been able to fight his way through it.
When King is at his best, he can be one of the best pitchers in the National League. That was him down the stretch in 2024 and the early part of ‘25. This is not that version of King. The fact that he’s still a winning-type player -- even when he’s clearly not at his best -- is a testament to the right-hander.
Statement outing from Bradgley
With Adrian Morejon and Jason Adam unavailable, rookie Bradgley Rodriguez was tasked with the setup role for closer Mason Miller on Sunday afternoon. He aced the test.
Rodriguez entered with two men in scoring position and one out in the seventh inning on Sunday. He allowed one of those runners to score, but stranded the other, working deftly through the top of the Angels’ lineup. He proceeded to retire the side in order in the eighth. Five huge outs -- on a day the Padres desperately needed them.
And on this mound, no less -- the mound where Francisco Rodriguez made a name for himself.
Bradgley Rodriguez is an undersized right-hander from Venezuela, as well. He wears those glasses on the mound, and his delivery is even similar. He’s always been a big K-Rod fan himself, but he says the delivery, in which he rears back and falls slightly off the mound, evolved on its own.
In any case, pitching at Angel Stadium clearly meant something to Bradgley Rodriguez.
“Obviously it was emotional, being here, [pitching] here,” Rodriguez said through interpreter Jorge Merlos. “But it’s emotional pitching in every ballpark in the Majors.”
He’s going to stick if he keeps pitching like this. Rodriguez, the team’s No. 6 prospect, lowered his ERA to 0.73 with Sunday’s outing.
Using all 26
Bryce Johnson is the last man on the Padres’ bench. He’s their fifth outfielder (maybe sixth, if you count Gavin Sheets). He’s on the roster primarily because he can run and he can defend all three outfield spots.
And he’s making an impact at the plate, nonetheless.
It’s become abundantly clear already that manager Craig Stammen wants to keep his bench extremely involved. As such, Johnson has gotten plenty of opportunities this season. Or at least plenty more opportunities than you’d expect, given the offensive core in place in San Diego.
“It makes it a lot easier to give days off to some of our everyday players, because the bench players are playing so well, and we feel good about their at-bats,” Stammen said recently. “I think when they play more often, their at-bats are probably a little bit better, too.”
Sure looked like the case on Sunday. Even Johnson, the last man on the bench, seems to have a rhythm at the plate. He went 2-for-3 with a double and a two-out, two-strike RBI single in the seventh inning, which doubled the Padres’ lead. That run would prove decisive.