Ninth-inning homer gives Reds victory in game highlighted by Michael King's return for Padres

Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Sep 10, 2025

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The Padres got a win before they lost Tuesday night.

If not for the return of the pitcher who started opening day for the Padres and was arguably their best pitcher a year ago, a loss would simply be a loss at this point in the season for a team in a playoff race.

But even before Tyler Stephenson’s two-run homer off Robert Suarez broke a tie in the top of the ninth inning and held as the decisive hit in a 4-2 Reds victory, something happened that practically rendered the final score a footnote.

Michael King was back on the mound for the Padres, and he was every bit as good as could be expected.

And there is no way to downplay how big a win it is that King would be healthy for the Padres as they approach October.

The right-hander, who was sidelined 10 starts into the season with a nerve impingement near his throwing shoulder and made it through two innings in a start in August before going back on the injured list with left knee inflammation, made it through five innings on 63 pitches Tuesday.

When King was not leaving balls over the middle of the plate, he was generally every bit of the top-shelf starter the Padres anticipated he would be for them this season.

In his first start in a major league game in exactly one month and his first time going more than two innings in nearly four months, King surrendered a pair of first-pitch home runs with one out in each of the first two innings before going on to allow just a single and walking one.

Sal Stewart, the second batter King faced, sent a sinker left up over the middle of the plate 419 feet to center field.

Will Benson, the second batter in the second inning, turned on a thigh-high fastball over the inner third of the plate and drilled it 409 feet to right field.

King retired the next six batters on a total of 15 pitches before going to three balls in a count for the first time and walking Gavin Lux with one out in the fourth inning.

He almost followed that by surrendering another one-out, first-pitch homer. But Fernando Tatis Jr. robbed his fourth home run of the season by running back 76 feet to chase down a long drive by Stephenson and leaping to catch the ball a good three feet beyond the wall.

King appeared to be tiring as he retired the next four batters, going to three balls against three of them.

The Padres made sure he would not be on the hook for the loss in the bottom of the inning.

They did not get a runner on base against Reds starter Zack Littell between Ryan O’Hearn’s one-out single in the first inning and Ramón Laureano drawing a walk to lead off their half of the fifth.

Then they got three in a row, as Jackson Merrill’s second triple in two nights drove in Laureno and Jose Iglesias was hit on the left hand by a 91 mph sinker.

Jake Cronenworth made the first out of the inning, but it was a line drive to left field that tied the game by bringing in Merrill.

Littell would finish six innings before the battle of the bullpens commenced.

Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta and Mason Miller got the game to Suarez, who recorded two outs before walking Lux and serving up Stephenson’s shot to the second balcony of the Western Metal Building.

Reds closer Emilio Pagan, the Reds’ third reliever, worked a 1-2-3 ninth against his former team.

King, who was sixth in the National League with a 2.59 ERA when he was sidelined in May, went into Tuesday’s start with the mindset that every game matters and that his job was to be the pitcher he is when he is at his best.

The reality is that immediacy must be blended with a longer-term vision.

How he feels Wednesday and his ability to rebound and be able to go Sunday is the next step.

King being able to give them quality innings in postseason starts is considered all but imperative if their postseason is going to last to the end of October.

The plan is for him to get three more starts before the postseason. The hope is that he would continue to build up endurance and effectiveness in those starts and be close to the best version of himself when he is called on to start in a wild-card series.

The Padres are almost certainly going to be playing one of those, as the winner of the National League West appears destined to be the No.3 seed. That would mean hosting the No.6 seed in a best-of-three series that begins Sept. 30.

The top wild-card team will earn the No.4 seed and host the fifth seed. The Cubs won Monday and lead the Padres by three games in the race for that fourth seed.

________