Michael King’s gem vs. Braves keeps Padres afloat as lineup concerns linger

Let’s not pretend the Padres getting a win in their series opener against the Atlanta Braves wasn’t the most important thing. A 1-0 win against a contending team is no joke. But we also can’t pretend this was a clean statement. It wasn’t. It was more of the same.

This was Michael King dragging the Padres across the finish line. Then it was another clutch Manny Machado swing in what has been the strangest season we’ve seen from him. And this was the bullpen doing what they do best. At the same time, this was just another warning for the Padres. 

After the win, 97.3 The Fan posted an on-field interview with Machado, who was standing there in the middle of Petco Park after basically being the whole offense for the night. He praised King afterward, and he earned every bit of it.

Machado looked relaxed in the interview with Sam Levitt, as he should. The Padres had just beaten an NL East contender at home. King had shoved. And the crowd had something to celebrate.

But the Padres still had to rely on one swing to carry the night.

Michael King gave the Padres exactly what their lineup keeps failing to provide

King gave the Padres seven scoreless innings, allowed six hits, struck out five and didn’t walk a single batter.  And the Braves actually out-hit the Padres 7-5. San Diego went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The Padres didn’t build on Machado’s homer. They failed to cash in on their chances. The offense didn’t really put any real pressure on Atlanta.

It’s a good thing King was dealing, and Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller finished the job.

The Padres are not short on pitching storylines. We know that it’s their arms that are keeping the team alive. And San Diego should enjoy a grindy 1-0 win. Those kinds of wins count the same. The lineup is the part we continue to circle. It remains unstable. And a team living this close to the edge doesn’t have much staying power.

Still, the Padres moved to 40-37 with the win, and that’s totally fine. The pitching staff’s performance should be viewed as proof that they’re doing their job loudly enough to cover up how quiet the offense still is.

At the very beginning of the season we talked about how the Padres could survive like this for a little while. They can steal games with how strong their pitching is. They can wait for Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Jackson Merrill to heat up and hope those moments start stacking up.

But hope isn’t working right now. One swing is not offensive depth. A 1-0 win is not proof that anything has changed. It’s just proof the Padres’ pitching staff continues to give this team a fighting chance.

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