Padres lackluster offense and taxed bullpen falter in King’s return vs. Reds
Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Petco Park- San Diego, CA
The Padres headed into Tuesday night’s bout with the Reds one game back from the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. Quite possibly the biggest headline heading into the match was the Padres’ starting pitcher. Michael King made his much-anticipated return to the mound after nursing several different injuries throughout the season.
King’s Tuesday night start marked his first start in a month, and just his second start since the month of May. In his last start, King went just two innings and posted an ERA of nine against Seattle. It is safe to say that Mike Shildt and the entire Friars organization could only hope Michael King can stay healthy and return to form as the Padres pursue a deep October run.
Notably, Luis Arraez got a rest night, and Jose Iglesias got the nod at shortstop with Xander Bogaerts out.
The Reds started hot. Despite posting a 2.92 ERA since 2024, good for fifth best in the NL amongst qualified pitchers, King gave up a home run in just the second at-bat of the evening. Sal Stewart hit his second homer of the season. After another solo shot in the second inning by Will Benson, Fernando Tatis Jr. robbed yet another home run in the third inning. Leaping up to make a jaw-dropping grab in right field, Tatis was able to keep the game at two to zero.
ANOTHER HOME RUN ROBBERY BY FERNANDO TATIS JR. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/XFFLe6aD7U
— MLB (@MLB) September 10, 2025
The Padres quickly rallied back. Following a similar script to Monday’s comeback win, Jackson Merrill smacked an RBI triple that cut the deficit to one. A sac fly from Jake Cronenworth tied the game. Going into the sixth, all tied up, the Friars looked for one of their stars to break out of their slumps and provide the winning run. Manny Machado, hitting .154 in his last ten starts, could not provide such a spark, going 0-for-4 and barely missing a big home run in the eighth.
After three clean innings strung together by the bullpen between Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta, and Mason Miller, it was up to Robert Suarez to keep the game tied in the ninth. Suarez struggled, giving up a walk to start the inning. His fastball lacked sufficient life, and he appeared predictable to Reds hitters. Tyler Stephenson delivered the knockout blow with a two-run homer, making that walk sting even more.
Ultimately, going into the bottom of the ninth down four to two, the Padres fell short. Bright spots of the night included Michael King getting through five innings fairly clean and Jackson Merrill’s two-hit night, including a double and a triple. Merrill, hitting just .217 in his last ten games, will be key to any sort of postseason run. Tonight was a great flash of what could be to come.
Additionally, Wandy Peralta and Mason Miller both looked dominant coming out of the bullpen.
Moving forward, San Diego will look for Michael King to continue logging quality starts and aim to get stars such as Manny Machado and Ryan O’Hearn, batting .237 in the last ten games, back into a groove. On Wednesday, the Friars will look to take the series against Cincinnati and prepare for this weekend’s series against the Rockies.
Billy has spent a majority of his life following San Diego sports and worked in San Diego for many years. Now residing in Newport Beach he recently obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from Chapman University and now works as an Associate Personal Injury Attorney. Billy enjoys supporting the Padres and SDFC from Orange County and making the drive down for big games. He is passionate about analytics and writing about sports.