SI:AM | Michael King Saves Padres’ Season With Bullpen Shorthanded

Two days after starting Game 2 of the series, King made sure San Diego would play a Game 4.

Michael King stepped up when the Padres needed him and helped force a Game 4. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Will all four MLB division series end tonight?

In today’s SI:AM: 
👑 The Padres’ unlikely hero
🏈 Were we wrong about the Falcons?
⚾ What the Yankees should do in Game 3

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Padres live to see another day

The crowd in San Diego went nuts last night when Jake Cronenworth put the Padres ahead with a solo homer in the fifth inning. But it raised a very important question: Who would protect the Padres’ lead?

San Diego had the best bullpen in the majors in the regular season, but its two top relief arms were unexpectedly unavailable last night. Setup man Adrian Morejon complained of a stiff shoulder after playing catch on Monday, and fireballing closer Mason Miller went on the paternity list less than an hour before the game. The Padres were facing elimination and down to just three reliable relievers. 

To make matters worse, manager Craig Stammen had to go to the bullpen early after starter Nick Pivetta got into trouble in the fifth, and Jason Adam, the first man out of the pen, only managed one out. Adam gave up the tying run, then was pulled from the game after loading the bases. 

Yuki Matsui got out of the jam, then got the first two outs of the sixth inning after Cronenworth’s homer in the bottom of the fifth. Bradgley Rodriguez got the next four outs, and then an unlikely hero emerged from the bullpen to start the eighth inning. 

It was Michael King, the team’s top starter. King had thrown 72 pitches just two days earlier in the Padres’ Game 2 loss in Milwaukee, but he told Stammen he was available to pick up the slack in the bullpen. King pitched a scoreless eighth, then came back out for the ninth to nail down the save. He allowed the tying run to get into scoring position, but induced a double play to end the game. He wound up throwing 40 pitches on one day’s rest. 

It wasn’t pretty, but it was what the Padres needed. King, who worked out of the bullpen earlier in his career with the Yankees, almost saw it all come unraveled after walking consecutive batters in the ninth. 

“I wasn’t as crisp as I’d like to be,” he said. 

It was a difficult situation, but King was eager to meet the moment. He would usually have thrown a bullpen session anyway on Tuesday to stay loose between starts, so he downplayed the significance of pitching in the game, rather than before it. 

“I have bullets in my arm that I don’t want to save,” King told reporters after the game. “You’re in an elimination game, you want everybody to be all-in on it. Not just me included. We have a bunch of dogs down there that are all-in.”

The Padres will face another do-or-die game tonight as Walker Buehler takes the mound. The availability of Miller and Morejon remains a question mark, but King said he wants the ball again if called upon. 

The best of Sports Illustrated

• Albert Breer: It Was a Mistake to Judge the Falcons After Week 2
• Gilberto Manzano: Steelers Are Stuck With Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers, Whether They Like It or Not
• Ryan Phillips:  Michael King Pushed the Boundaries of MLB History to Save the Padres’ Season
• Karl Rasmussen: Aaron Boone Is Considering Changes for Game 3. Here’s How the Yankees Should Line Up.
• Karl Rasmussen: Dodgers Have Proven They Don't Need Shohei Ohtani’s Best to Win in October
• Theo Lloyd-Hughes: USWNT Stock Up, Stock Down: Phallon Tullis-Joyce Is Fighting for the Top Spot

The top five…

Kiké Hernandez had another signature October moment in Game 3. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

… things I saw last night: 
5. Kiké Hernández’s homer to open the scoring against the Braves. It was his 17th career postseason homer, the third-most ever by a player from Puerto Rico. 
4. Maple Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna’s first career NHL goal. McKenna, 18, was the first pick in this year’s draft. 
3. Xander Bogaerts’s smart baserunning to score on a chaotic play and give the Padres an insurance run. 
2. Predators goalie Juuse Saros’s save on a 3-on-0 situation for the Maple Leafs in overtime. (Toronto scored in the final seconds of OT to win it.)
1. Brewers manager Pat Murphy’s reaction to Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill robbing Milwaukee of an extra-base hit while Murphy was being interviewed by Tom Verducci. 

📺 What we’re watching today …

MLB 

Guardians at White Sox, 4 p.m. ET, TBS
Chicago will aim to clinch its first ALCS berth since 2005, the year of their last World Series title.

Dodgers at Braves, 6 p.m. ET, FS1
In a battle of Tylers, the Braves will send trade-deadline acquisition Tyler Mahle to the mound while the Dodgers will turn to Tyler Glasnow as they seek a third straight trip to the NLCS.

Rays at Yankees, 8 p.m. ET, TBS
New York will start Max Fried, who is 5–1 and has a 1.81 ERA in seven career games vs. Tampa Bay, in hopes of staving off elimination.

Brewers at Padres, 10 p.m. ET, FS1
After losing 12 straight postseason road games, Milwaukee will aim to buck that trend as it tries to close out the series in San Diego.

WNBA

Liberty at Dream, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
With Atlanta leading scorer Allisha Gray out because of a finger injury, New York and Breanna Stewart will look to even the series.

Aces at Valkyries, 9:30 p.m. ET, Peacock
A’ja Wilson & Co. will need to overcome the likely absence of Jewell Loyd and Ballhalla’s raucous energy to avoid falling behind 0–2 in the semifinals.