SAN DIEGO -- The Padres scored a run on two hits in the first inning on Thursday. They wouldn’t put another runner into scoring position the rest of the night.
Here’s some analysis from Petco Park, after San Diego’s 2-1 series-opening loss to the Cardinals.
Return of the King
Despite the relatively solid numbers, Michael King hasn't quite been himself this season. He’s been mostly unable to command his fastball, and he’s had to grind his way through his outings.
But this? This looked more like the version of Michael King from his dominant late-season run in 2024.
King pitched six innings of one-hit, one-run ball, allowing only Alec Burleson’s solo home run in the fourth. Otherwise, he was as sharp as he’s looked all season.
“His command was definitely better, and I think he had the changeup working really well,” manager Craig Stammen said.
Of course, King has always been his own harshest critic. His sinker was better. His command was probably better, too. But none of it is where he wants it to be.
“We’re getting there,” King said. “It was a little bit better. A little bit more command. But still not 100 percent.”
Nonetheless, King punched out six Cardinals and needed only 84 pitches to complete six innings. Which led to …
An intriguing bullpen decision
The Padres had a relatively fresh bullpen entering Thursday’s game. Still, this was maybe the sharpest King has looked all season. And with the injuries elsewhere in their rotation, King is the de facto ace -- the guy you want pitching deep into games, covering innings and saving the bullpen.
The counterargument? Well, King was permitted to pitch into the seventh inning in his last time out against the White Sox. He allowed a couple of runs, and the game got away from him.
Stammen also noted that King’s workloads had been heavy in his last few starts. The Padres don’t want to overwork him in early May.
“He definitely wanted to go another inning,” Stammen said. “We had kind of decided pregame that his workload over the past three or four starts warranted maybe slightly less workload tonight.”
Then again, Stammen admitted to thinking twice about that strategy, considering how well King was pitching. He ultimately decided to take the ball from King.
“I’m never happy when I get pulled,” King said. “But I also have a lot of emotion out there. So I let the emotionless manager make those decisions.”
Stammen -- the so-called “emotionless manager” -- decided on rookie right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez for the seventh. Rodriguez has mostly been excellent in high-leverage spots this season. But he allowed a leadoff double to Jordan Walker, and Masyn Winn followed two batters later with the go-ahead triple, which proved to be decisive.
The downside of Tatis at second …
The downside of playing Fernando Tatis Jr. at second base is not that you’ve got Tatis at second. Maybe he’s not quite as sharp there as Jake Cronenworth or Sung-Mun Song, but he’s made eight appearances at second base now. He’s proven perfectly adequate. The athleticism plays.
No, the downside to Tatis at second is that you then do not have Tatis available to play right field. He’s a two-time Platinum Glove Award-winning right fielder, who isn’t playing right.
That was the case on Thursday night, with Tatis at second and Nick Castellanos in right field. Stammen’s goal is simple enough:
“We’re trying to score runs,” Stammen said. “You want to play offense. You want to play offense early, get ahead, then you can put your defense in late. That’s kind of the way I look at it. You just can’t have both at all times.”
Against the lefty Matthew Liberatore, the Padres’ best offensive lineup featured Castellanos -- which necessitated Tatis’ move to second, in place of the lefty-hitting Song.
In a tie game in the seventh, Castellanos was still in right when Winn lofted a drive down the right-field line. It was an undeniably difficult play for Castellanos (or any right fielder) -- with a 45% catch probability. But it was the type of play that the rangy Tatis almost certainly makes.
Of course, given that Castellanos does not have Tatis’ range, the safer play would’ve been pulling up and letting the ball bounce. He almost certainly could’ve kept Walker from scoring. Instead, Castellanos got aggressive with an all-out dive. His manager had no problem with that.
“He went for it,” Stammen said. “That’s what we want our players to do. We want them to go for it. We want them to play with freedom.”
The ball landed just out of Castellanos’ reach, and Winn sped into third as the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.