SAN DIEGO -- Michael King’s long-awaited return to the mound did not go as hoped. His teammates were there to pick him up.
Ramon Laureano hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning, and the Padres rallied to beat the Red Sox, 5-4, on Saturday night at Petco Park. Laureano’s run-scoring knock saved the Padres after King lasted just two-plus innings in his return from the injured list and Robert Suarez blew a save opportunity in the ninth.
“It feels great helping the team win,” Laureano said. “That's what you play for.”
Making his return from a nerve issue in his right shoulder, King labored from the outset and gave up four hits and two runs to put the Padres in an early hole. He needed 57 pitches to record six outs and was pulled one batter into the third inning. It was his shortest outing in two seasons with the Padres.
“Release point was off a little bit on some pitches, but had to make those adjustments,” King said. “When I'm really rolling, I can make those one-pitch adjustments. It took me a couple pitches to make those adjustments. I’ll definitely be faster to do those in my next outings.”
Even as King scuffled, the Padres found a way to win.
Xander Bogaerts homered and singled home a run to keep the Padres close early. Trailing 3-2 in the fifth, the Padres drew four straight walks against Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito to take their first lead. Ryan O’Hearn drew a bases-loaded walk to force home the game-tying run, and Laureano followed with another bases-loaded walk to bring home the go-ahead run.
Suarez blew a 4-3 lead in the ninth when Roman Anthony hit a ground-rule RBI double to tie the score and send it to extras. After Jason Adam held the Red Sox scoreless in the top of the 10th, Laureano hit the first pitch he saw for a chopper over the head of drawn-in third baseman Alex Bregman to score automatic runner Bogaerts with the winning run.
In eight games with the Padres since being acquired at the Trade Deadline, Laureano is batting .294 with four extra-base hits, eight RBIs and an .862 OPS.
“He's just a good player,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “A tough player … really good approach, a winning guy.”
In his first start since May 18, King’s velocity was on par with his season averages and the movement on his pitches was sharp as ever. The rust, however, was evident in his control.
The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead three batters into the game after Bregman doubled and Jarren Duran singled him home on pitches King left over the plate. In the second inning, King loaded the bases on a single and two walks and needed 31 pitches to get out of the inning.
When Bregman ripped a double off King to lead off the third, Shildt decided he had seen enough and turned the game over to the Padres’ bullpen.
“I crossfired a few times, trying to go in and missed away or trying to go away and missed in,” King said. “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, and then it was just trying to keep them off balance for the two-seam and four-seam.”
The bullpen was up to the task. Even with Suarez’s blown save, Padres relievers combined for eight innings, two runs allowed and 14 strikeouts to prevent the game from getting away.
That set the stage for Laureano’s heroics in the 10th. As Bogaerts raced around from second and scored with the winning run, no one was more relieved than King.
“I obviously wish I could have gone a little bit further,” King said. “But it was very fun to be part of that [high-five] line instead of just giving high-fives to the guys that played.”