Truist Park- Atlanta Georgia

Friday night saw the Padres break a six-game losing streak with a nail-biting 2-1 victory. With Michael King scheduled to throw, it looked like San Diego was bound to turn the corner.

That was until it was reported that King slept poorly on his throwing shoulder, and was scratched from his start. Mike Shildt quickly confirmed a bullpen game, with Sean Reynolds getting things started for the Friars.

Grant Holmes took the mound for Atlanta, making his tenth start in place of the injured Reynaldo Lopez. Holmes escaped the first inning with the help of an impressive catch in foul ground by first baseman Matt Olson. He then carved through the bottom of the part of the order with pair of punchouts.

The Braves opened up the scoring with the help of some excellent fortune. With a runner at third, a slow roller from Nick Allen danced its way down the 3rd base line. With no shot at making a play, Manny Machado watched the ball trickle off the bag for a single.

San Diego broke through their recent RISP wall in the third inning, with Machado lining an RBI single to score Brandon Lockridge. Holmes quickly retired Merrill to go to the bottom of the third tied 1-1.

An out away from a quick third inning, Reynolds surrendered an opposite field homer to the power-hitting Matt Olson that put Atlanta on top. Four pitches later, Austin Riley tagged another center-cut breaking ball to the left field corner.

MATT BLAST ?#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/QAptMFWFq3

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 24, 2025

Peralta relieved Reynolds following the pair of extra-base knocks. Riley was unable to score on Alex Verdugo‘s single in the next at-bat, but came in to score on an infield hit that Ozzie Albies narrowly beat out. A second infield RBI for the Braves put them on top, 3-1.

Fernando Tatis Jr.‘s slump raged on, as he finished with a pair of groundouts and strikeouts. He chased out of the zone on four of the mere nine pitches he saw all game. Competitive at-bats remained remained few for the Padres’ offense, as Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill proved to be the only tough at-bats for Holmes and the Braves’ bullpen.

Following Peralta’s departure, Alek Jacob finished the fifth on one pitch, inducing a soft blooper to Jake Cronenworth. His success ended then and there, as a one-out walk to the nine hitter Nick Allen set the table for Ronald Acuña’s second home run of the series. The 111 MPH blast stretched the lead to 5-1 going into the seventh.

Another day, another @ronaldacunajr24 highlight ✌️#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/yOe7ovMF7V

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 24, 2025

In all likelihood, squandering opportunities and poor situational hitting will gather most of the blame for another subpar offensive output. However, the Padres certainly didn’t fall on the right side of fortune all game. San Diego’s best threat all game, which came in the sixth, ended quickly with a poor strike three call and a lineout right at Acuña Jr. in right. Luis Arraez, a primary table-setter, had a pair of hard-hit balls that didn’t translate as he went 0-5.

After two more runs, both charged to Jacob, came across in the seventh, San Diego’s chances grew slim. A superman grab from Michael Harris II in center on a flare from Merrill put the nail in the coffin.

Coming in to throw the ninth, Scott Blewett shut the door on the 7-1 loss. It’s clear that San Diego was not geared up for a bullpen game. A sputtering offense and a bullpen going through a tough stretch was certainly not a formula for success in the given situation.

The loss pushed the run drought to just 13 runs in their last eight contests. Because the struggling Jason Heyward is the only absence in the lineup, it looks more and more like action time. Whether the shakeups come from inside or outside of the system, they appear imminent heading into June.

The bright spots for the Friars aren’t many, but they point towards improvement. Firstly, San Diego was able to salvage their four high leverage arms for the finale tomorrow. Secondly, Manny Machado continued his stretch of seeing the ball well, going 2-2 with two walks. Finally, Luis Campusano drew a walk in his late appearance in place of Brandon Lockridge. While not much

Following the loss, Mike Shildt further adressed the King situtation, claiming that they “could have pushed him” to make the start. He added that King felt great yesterday, and was ready to go for his start, further supporting the notion that the soreness merely appeared overnight.

Willy Warren

A 17-year-old San Diego native, Willy Warren is a baseball fan at heart who created High Leverage Baseball, a combination of around-the-league statistical analysis and breakdowns on X, and daily newsletters on the TikTok platform. Willy passionately studies Journalism at San Dieguito Academy, and is working to become billingual in Spanish to assist in communicating with Latin-born players and coaches.