Padres' Michael King Reacts to First Start After Missing 12 Weeks

Aug 9, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King (34) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King provided insight on his return to the mound on Saturday after missing nearly three months with a pinched nerve.

King pitched into the third inning in his appearance, though left after allowing a leadoff double to Alex Bregman, and allowed two runs and four hits through two full innings.

“Obviously, not as crisp as I’d like to be,” he said. “… I crossfired a few times, trying to go in, missed away or trying to go away, missed in. Changeup wasn’t as good as I’d like it to be. I felt like I found it a little bit in the second inning, but still not great. Slider was nowhere.

“I think (the) release point was off a little bit on some pitches. But had to make those adjustments. And think when I’m really rolling, I can make those one-pitch adjustments. It took me a couple pitches to make those adjustments, and I will definitely be faster with those in my next outing.”

King landed on the injured list May 25, one day after being scratched from his start against the Atlanta Braves.

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The starter was enjoying a great season prior to his injury, posting a 2.59 ERA though 10 starts. He threw his first career complete game shutout, and had 64 strikeouts through 55.2 innings pitched.

After his start on Saturday, his ERA rose to 2.81 — which would still be better than his 2.95 ERA last season — and his batting average against opponents reached the Mendoza line for the first time since April 7.

King is the latest addition to a star-studded pitching staff, and is perhaps the most important. The Padres now have a concrete starting rotation of King, Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes, all of whom are MLB-proven pitchers who will set games up nicely for potentially the best bullpen in baseball.

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The Padres will need all the help they can get for the remainder of the season, and hope King continues to recover well enough to go deeper into games. They're just two games behind the Dodgers in the NL West, and have the best chance to knock them off of the top spot in the division for the first time this season with two more series still to play against LA.

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