San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King has been off and on the Injured List all season long. King was absent from May 19 until August 9 with an injury, and he landed right back on the IL after the August 9 start against the Boston Red Sox.
King then returned for a start on September 9 against the Cincinnati Reds, going five innings with two runs on three hits in a no-decision.
King's return was expected to be a major boost to an ailing San Diego rotation. Yu Darvish and Dylan Cease have been inconsistent, Randy Vasquez just came back to the big league club, and Nestor Cortes is on the IL following a series of rough outings.
The only positive has been Nick Pivetta, but King was supposed to provide some quality outings for San Diego.
On Tuesday night, that wasn't the case as he went just three innings and gave up eight runs on 10 hits in an 8-3 loss to the New York Mets.
King's ERA dropped from 2.87 to 3.84 in just one start, and there is cause for concern.
After the game , King didn't hide his feelings at all.
“Terrible fastball command,” King said, via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “All around terrible. Bad pitch selections. Bad locations. Got to be a lot better.”
The veteran knows he has to do better, and he is ready for his next start.
“I’ve got a lot to prove in my next one,” King said. “It’ll be a grind for the next five days to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
But, this isn't what the Padres or the fans were hoping for as they try to hold on to a Wild Card spot.
Despite the rough outing, manager Mike Shildt has no plans or thoughts to go away from King, per Cassavell.
“Listen, it’s Michael King, we’re going to pitch him,” Shildt said. “When’s the right, perfect time [to bring him back]? I don’t know that there is one. … It wasn’t his best outing. I’m excited to see him in five days.”
To be fair, there aren't many options, especially this late in the season.
Entering Wednesday, the Padres have a four-game lead over the Mets as both teams are fighting for a postseason spot, but hopefully King performs better in his next start.