SAN DIEGO -- Order was restored to the Padres’ rotation and it arrived via a familiar face in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Astros.
Welcome back old friend, Michael King.
Here are two things to note as the Padres evened their three-game series with the Astros, as they picked up a game on the Phillies and Diamondbacks in the NL Wild Card race.
King of the Hill
The Padres were busy at the Trade Deadline, trying to shore up their starting pitching. They acquired Robbie Ray from the Giants and Casey Mize from the Tigers. But neither showed much bite in their Padres debuts.
King, along with Walker Buehler, were the only set Padres starters before Ray’s and Mize’s arrivals. The Padres had turned to pitching chaos, with relievers taking the ball for bulk innings, as well as their starters, that had been ineffective.
The concept was successful in the short term, but its sustainability was questionable. That forced president of baseball operations A.J. Preller to focus on arms, and he snagged two viable right-handers.
But don’t lose sight of what King (7-8) can contribute, and he proved it with six solid innings in the twilight at Petco Park. King had just two wins in his last 13 starts before settling in against the Astros with an impressive outing.
King spread a run and three hits across his six innings, with six strikeouts and a walk. Things started shaky for King when two batters reached in the first, then in the second he surrendered a solo homer to former Padre Taylor Trammell.
“I made a mistake with Trammell … he was on the heater,’’ King said. “But besides that, it was pretty good.”
King finished strong in retiring his final seven batters, which let the bullpen slightly exhale to prepare it for what should be a full day on Sunday.
But King swears there’s more to his game.
“Still not there,’’ King said. “The sinker command was a lot better and when I have my sinker on, everything else plays. We’re still making adjustments.”
Surprisingly, it was just the 10th time the Padres won in his 24 starts this season.
“We never hit when Mike pitches, but he pitched his [tail] off today,’’ Jackson Merrill said. “And we got enough to do the job.’’
Mason Miller worked the ninth for his 29th save, which included a nifty nab of a short-hop throw from Ty France when covering first.
Action Jackson
Merrill is back, and a peek at his numbers doesn’t lie. He added to his second-half surge with his 17th home run of the season in his second at-bat, which untied the game. In his first plate appearance, he reached on a fielder’s choice and swiped second.
Merrill’s overall game is a blessing that the Padres are hoping continues to blossom. Merrill is one of just five players this year with more than 15 homers and 20 stolen bases.
But that version of Merrill was hard to find when the season was young. In his first 81 games, Merrill hit .213 with eight home runs. Then came July and August and he heated up with the weather, becoming more active than a summer lifeguard in San Diego.
“Just hitting in general and how contagious it is around the clubhouse is the best part for me,’’ said Merrill, who is comfortable hitting fifth in the order. “I love our lineup right now. We are getting used to it, it’s consistent.’’
Merrill has become reliable again, too.
“Just being on time, being aggressive, trying to win an at-bat,’’ he said. “Each time going up there, don’t think of anything but getting a good pitch to hit.
“I was probably trying to force things. Every hitter goes through it, so I’m just glad to be back.’’
In his last 20 games, Merrill is hitting .372 with 11 extra-base hits (three doubles, a triple and seven homers) and 16 runs scored. Even when he grounded into what looked like a double play in the eighth, he busted it down the line to keep the inning alive.
“Something clicked for him and he has been on fire,’’ manager Craig Stammen said. “The ball has been jumping off his bat.’’