King turns in another quality start, but Padres drop series finale to Mets
NEW YORK — The Padres rotated wins and losses across their six-game road trip through Cleveland and New York, culminating with a 4-2 loss to the Mets on Wednesday afternoon.
“Decent,” said Fernando Tatis Jr. said, summing up the trip. “But could’ve been better.”
That just about tells the story. Here are some takeaways from the finale at Citi Field:
The Padres have been one of the hottest teams in baseball recently. They’re 18-7 over the past four weeks. More than that, the quality of baseball has been so drastically improved from what it was during the first half.
Still, this was a disappointing way to finish their road trip. The Padres mustered just two hits off Mets starter Robert Stock (who broke through with San Diego in 2018). They consistently created traffic, but couldn’t cash in.
In the eighth, an errant throw from Sung-Mun Song proved especially costly. Song started the game at third base, but moved to short when Xander Bogaerts exited with a hamstring cramp. On a potential double-play grounder, Song rushed his throw and sailed it into right field. A run scored on the play and another run came across later in the frame.
“Just one of those innings,” said manager Craig Stammen.
The Padres threatened in the ninth, scoring a run and putting the tying runs on base. With two outs, Stammen opted for pinch-hitter Austin Hays over Song, despite the right-on-right matchup against Mets closer Kodai Senga. He figured Hays was a better threat to do damage, with the tying run on first. Instead, Hays bounced into a game-ending double play (with Tatis looming on deck).
Nonetheless, the Padres remain in control of the final Wild Card spot in the National League as they embark on a six-game homestand against the Twins and Pirates beginning Friday night.
“I feel like we always play pretty well at Petco,” said starter Michael King. “Disappointing end to this road trip. But knowing that we’re in the playoff spot currently definitely gives us a lot of confidence.”
The rotation finds its groove
In the two months leading up to the Trade Deadline, Padres starters turned in a grand total of six quality starts. Five of them came from King. It was abundantly clear what this roster needed at the Deadline. And, in Robbie Ray and Casey Mize, the Padres got what they needed.
King remains his usual quality self. He pitched 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball, allowing only Carson Benge’s opposite-field two-run homer in the fourth. The difference now is that the rest of the Padres rotation is filling in nicely around him. They’ve played 16 games since the Deadline and gotten nine quality starts.
“Leading up to that, the bullpen was getting used quite a bit,” Stammen said. “Now they’ve been given a little bit of a breather. … We love how the starting staff is going right now.”
Mize, Walker Buehler, Ray and King combined for four straight quality starts to finish the road trip — the first time the Padres have gotten that since May 2025.
“Pitching wins championships, and especially starting pitching,” King said. “Going deep into games in the playoffs is a major factor in winning championships. To have the guys that we trust to be able to do it, it makes it a lot better.”
Sheesh, how about the outfield defense in New York this week?
This time, Tatis showed off his arm strength, with a perfect throw from right field to cut down Francisco Alvarez at the plate, keeping the game within reach in the seventh inning. The Mets challenged, but Alvarez’s fingertips just missed the plate after a creative slide.
Tatis doesn’t get many outfield-assist opportunities anymore. The rest of the league knows better. But when he gets a chance, Tatis usually makes the most of it. This was his third outfield assist of the year.
“They were showing me off their arms,” Tatis joked of the Mets outfield. “So I needed to remind them: I can do it, too.”