After having to walk a tightrope for much of the season, Michael King has certainly enjoyed the run support as of late as the San Diego Padres took control in the middle innings for a 7-5 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night at Progressive Field.
Xander Bogaerts and Luis Campusano each drove in a trio of runs as the Padres (66-57) won their sixth straight and 35th comeback, pounding out double-digit hits for the eighth time in August. Cleveland (59-64) coughed up an early 3-0 lead as starter Gavin Williams gave up five runs in his shortest start of the season.
"We had people on base, we couldn't punch through, (Williams) is a really good pitcher (who) was using his off-speed stuff more today, and then Xander with the big hit...we've kind of done that here lately, we've given up runs and we've gotten a big homer which makes us feel like we're back in the game, and then we've played really good baseball after that," manager Craig Stammen said.
It was the first time since 2024 that Campusano knocked in three runs, giving him seven RBI over the past three games, while Bogaerts had his ninth multi-RBI game and first since July 10.
Bradgley Rodriguez closed the game, giving up a lead off double to Brayan Rocchio but stranding him behind a pair of strikeouts to earn his first career save. Stammen indicated that there was "nothing wrong" with Mason Miller and that it was a scheduled day off.
"Bradgley's one of the best relief pitchers in all of baseball and he proved it again tonight being able to pitch the ninth with some of our big boys down, and even giving up a lead-off double, for a rookie, for that to happen to him on the road and just get one-two-three right after that is pretty big," Stammen said.
After falling behind 3-0, Jackson Merrill walked to start the fourth. After Williams got consecutive outs, Bogaerts locked in on an elevated sweeper and bashed it halfway up the stands over the tall wall in left field for his 11th home run and second as many games after snapping a 25-game drought.
"We were down early, these guys got two solo homers, they had their ace going on the mound back at home from a road trip for those guys, so it was nice. We didn't back down, I think that homer by me kind of ignited us a little bit and then the other guys kept getting on base and kept getting hits, and Campy also having a great day today, it was awesome with those RBIs," Bogaerts said on the PadresTV broadcast.
Fernando Tatis Jr. kept the momentum going to start the fifth, uncorking a laser beam shot down the left field line that stayed inside the foul pole off an up-and-in fastball that tied the game. Seven of his 13 round-trippers have come in the 26 games since the All-Star break.
Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado followed with knocks, then Ty France walked to load the bases with nobody out. Campusano gave the Brown and Gold their first lead with a double off the wall in right center, driving in a pair to chase Williams, who had entered the day with the third-most strikeouts in the Majors.
That would be all, as despite a Bogaerts walk, reliever Craig Yoho left the bases loaded with a strikeout.
The run support helped King work through the sixth for the 16th time, but a two-out error by Bogaerts allowed Angel Genao to advance after an infield single when the throw went into the dugout. Petey Halpin cashed the unearned run with an RBI double off the top off the wall in right-center to make it a one run game, then King ended the inning by fanning Patrick Bailey.
No matter, France led off the seventh with a double off Colin Holderman, who then hit Merrill with a pitch. Campusano brought a run home with a double off the wall in right, then Bogaerts drove a sacrifice fly to right to make it 7-4.
King finished with six innings pitched, allowing eight hits with three of the four runs earned, striking out four and walking one to even his record at 8-8.
"I think it gave (King) a chance where 'oh, I can get a win here,' and he started smelling a win. He threw up a great inning right after that three run inning where we scored those runs and it was a big shutdown inning for us and gave us a chance, got us through six innings, saved some of the guys that we had down in the pen today, that was just a great job of him grinding through six innings without his best stuff," Stammen said.
The Padres had generated early traffic against Williams, but both times they worked men on first and third spots with two down Williams was able to get off the hook. Those would be the only times Williams would do so, as he allowed five runs on seven hits an 4 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and four walks in his seventh loss.
Those empty opportunities led to early stings, as Nathaniel Lowe led off the Guardian second by going the opposite way with a 2-1 sinker for a 409-foot solo home run to left field. An inning later Cleveland got another bases-empty blast as Rocchio turned on a 2-0 elevated sinker with one out and sent it three rows deep to right field.
That wasn’t all for the hosts, who followed up with consecutive singles to right by Steven Kwan and Chase DeLauter. King was able to whiff Angel Martinez, but Lowe notched his second RBI of the game with a single through the right side. A ground out ended the four-hit, two-run inning.
Yuki Matsui pitched around a leadoff walk in the seventh. Jeremiah Estrada allowed a lead off double to Lowe and then Genao reached on an error, so a wild pitch on a spiked splitter brought in a run, but he finished the eighth, getting two strikeouts.
San Diego has yet to announce a starting pitcher for the second game of the series, while the Guardians will send Joey Cantillo (8-7, 3.91 ERA) to the hill. The lefty has taken the loss in three of his last five starts, but in his three most-recent outings he allowed a combined three runs. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. PT from Progressive Field. In addition to the regular PadresTV broadcast, the game will also be televised by CBS 8.
This story was updated at 7:36 p.m.