Michael King outdueled Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the Padres beat the Dodgers 1-0 in the opener at Petco Park. San Diego jumped a half-game ahead in the NL West, relying on Miguel Andujar’s first-inning home run and a steady hand from a bullpen that needed its marg
The kind of Padres-Dodgers game that usually comes with noise came with something quieter on Monday night at Petco Park. No early flares. No late collapse. Just a shutout that stayed inches away from slipping—until it didn’t.
Michael King carried it for the Padres, outdueling Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the season’s first meeting between the Southern California rivals. San Diego won the opener of a three-game series 1-0, taking the NL West’s top spot with a half-game lead over L.A.
The only run came fast. Miguel Andujar, batting in the No. 2 spot in the lineup, launched a first-inning home run off Yamamoto to put the Padres up 1-0. From there, it was a night built on control and defense more than offense.
This matchup has a history—one long enough that people still remember the beanball war from a season ago in June at Dodger Stadium. when eight hitters were plunked across a four-game series. There’s also been bad blood for the better part of a decade. But Monday didn’t look like that. It looked like a first-place game. played between two of the league’s best teams with the stakes turned up and the scoring restrained.
Runs were at a premium. Behind the plate, Rodolfo Durán helped make them scarce in ways most fans might never see unless they’re looking for them. Durán threw out both Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani trying to steal.
“He’s got a cannon,” King said. “Sometimes I feel like he throws it back harder to me than I throw it to him.”
Durán also put up sharp ABS challenges at important moments. Craig Stammen, the Padres’ manager, pointed to it without trying to make it bigger than it was.
“Threw a couple guys out, caught a shutout,” Stammen said. “We feel really comfortable with him behind the plate.”
In the ninth, the game got stressful for the usual reason: Mason Miller walked the first two Dodgers he faced. The margin shrank again and again. Then the zone showed up. Miller found it, stranded two runners, and nailed down Major League-leading 15th save.
That’s what these teams do to each other—tight games, fine margins. But there’s a harder layer to San Diego’s win, because it didn’t come as part of an easy season storyline.
The Padres have concerns in their starting rotation. Depth is thin, and two of their best starters—Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove—remain on the IL, with no timeline yet for a return. The performance on Monday made that reality feel more urgent.
“Where would the Padres be without King?” became the implicit question, and Stammen didn’t dodge it.
“That was the discussion in the offseason when Michael was a free agent,” Stammen said. “We knew we needed starting pitching and wanted to sign someone. Michael was at the top of our list, because he has the potential to be an ace — can be an ace, if he’s healthy.
“So far he’s showed that this year. That’s what we have come to expect out of Michael. It’s a hard thing to be an ace on a staff. But he’s showed so far that he’s capable of being that guy for us.”
King’s night was his best of the season. He worked seven scoreless innings, striking out a season-high nine Dodgers hitters. He allowed only four hits, all singles, and didn’t allow a runner to reach scoring position until the sixth. Even so, Monday felt different in the way pitchers talk about when they finally have everything working.
King mixed and matched five different pitches to keep the Dodgers off-balance, and lowered his ERA to 2.31 in the process. It was also the first time he completed seven innings this season.
“I want to go as deep as I can every game,” King said. “I know we’ve got that electric bullpen down there. But I try to convince Stammen I can go as many as possible. So yeah, was happy to get through seven.”
Still, pitching doesn’t win division games by itself—especially when offense has had to fill gaps with more than just stars. San Diego has needed major contributions from role players, and it got them from Andujar.
The Padres signed Andujar just before Spring Training to a one-year deal. They had envisioned him as a regular starter against lefties and perhaps a bench bat against some tough right-handed starters. Instead, he’s been too effective to keep in a box. He’s worked his way into the everyday DH role and, lately, the No. 2 spot in the starting lineup.
The home run in the first inning set the tone, and he backed it up with a single in the third. This season, Andujar has posted a team-leading .298 batting average with an .823 OPS.
“He’s kept us going offensively when we’ve had some people scuffling,” Stammen said. “Every time he swings, he’s hitting a line drive. … Right now he’s taking some of our best at-bats of anybody in our lineup, and he’s been a catalyst for us being able to score runs and win some games.”
For one night, the Padres didn’t need fireworks. They needed a shutout that stayed standing, a role player who turned a No. 2 spot into a difference-maker, and a pitching staff that—right now—has to keep proving it can hold up.
And when the final out finally came, San Diego didn’t just win the opener. It took the lead it’s been chasing: a half-game advantage in the National League West, with one solo swing and one dominant night doing most of the heavy lifting.
Padres Dodgers Michael King Yoshinobu Yamamoto Miguel Andujar Petco Park NL West Rodolfo Durán Mason Miller Craig Stammen Nick Pivetta Joe Musgrove