Michael King not his best, Fermin continues to hit in Padres loss to Guardians, 7-1
Credit: Yahoo Sports
On Saturday, the San Diego Padres faced the Cleveland Guardians for the first time this spring and lost 7-1.
Michael King started today, hoping to bounce back after being hit around in his previous outing against the Los Angeles Angels. After a difficult first inning where Steven Kwan tripled and eventually scored, King was able to strand a couple of runners to limit the damage to just one run. He then settled into the game until the 4th inning when Rhys Hoskins hit a two-run homer. King finished with 3.2 innings pitched, three hits allowed, three earned runs, and two strikeouts. King’s changeup was the highlight of his outing, but his fastball location often let him down.
Garrett Hawkins and Carter Loewen struggled in relief, giving up two runs each. Jackson Wolf and Bradgley Rodriguez looked better in their three innings, but were let down by a lineup hampered by the ongoing World Baseball Classic.
With Freddy Fermin being the only regular in the lineup, the Padres struggled to string together any real offense. Fermin and Bryce Johnson looked the best as they have much of spring, with each going 2 for 3. The Padres racked up 10 hits but only scored one run through Johnson’s single in the 3rd. Outside of Ty France’s double in the 6th, nine of the Padres’ 10 hits were singles.
The Padres hope to bounce back as they take on the Cincinnati Reds at 1:10 PM in Peoria. The Friars are now 7-8 this spring but have seen a lot of great things despite the losses.
