Padres believe key pitcher's return sets them up for September success

SAN DIEGO — With the return of starting pitcher Michael King on Tuesday night, the San Diego Padres got a taste of what his presence on the mound could mean in October.

In just his second start since May 18 (and first lasting more than 2.0 innings since Aug. 9), King allowed two runs and three hits over 5.0 innings against the Cincinnati Reds. Both runs came on solo homers (off the bats of Sal Stewart and Will Benson), but that was the only damage Cincinnati could do against the 30-year-old right-hander.

Activated from the injured list before Tuesday's start, King threw 63 pitches, with 42 going for strikes.

King, who finished seventh in last year's National League Cy Young race after posting a 2.95 ERA across 173.2 innings, has been limited to just 11 starts this season due to inflammation in his left knee and right shoulder.

However, while he has missed a good portion of the schedule so far, Tuesday's return came at an excellent time for the Padres. Not only did King show he was healthy, but he also can continue to ramp up throughout September for postseason baseball, manager Mike Shildt said.

"It feels right," Shildt said of the September build-up potentially leading to good things in October for King and the Padres. "I think the timing has worked out well.

"But you know him, the ability to go and compete tonight and compete well, then be able to recover and move forward, sets him and us up for quite a bit of success."

King touched as high as 95.1 mph with his fastball, but relied on his sinker much more against the Reds. Per Baseball Savant, King threw 24 sinkers on Tuesday while uncorking just 10 fastballs. Prior to Tuesday's start, King had thrown his sinker 28.4% of the time with his fastball right behind at 24.6%.

Though using a little different formula, King's return could give the Padres a formidable bump in the rest of the regular season as San Diego chases the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. With King, San Diego's potential postseason rotation strengthens as well with him and Nick Pivetta forming a one-two punch that could potentially be problematic for opposing batters.

Tuesday's return was just the start of a late-season push for King, and it's a push that the Padres hope will give them an edge in the division and beyond.