Michael

King

King had a 3-0 lead after six, but he then walked Mookie Betts and gave up a single to Max Muncy to open the seventh. He was pulled in favor of Adrian Morejon at this point, and Morejon went on to give up a grand slam to Teoscar Hernández. It was the first runs allowed by Morejon in a month and the first homer he’s given up since May 3. At least it still qualified as a bounce-back outing for King. Throwing a little harder than usual, he allowed just three hard-hit balls and finished with a 32 percent CSW. King will next pitch at home against the Braves on Wednesday.

King walked four. He had a great start in a 1-0 win over the Braves last time out, but that’s his only victory and one of just two quality starts while he’s amassed a 5.45 ERA and a 24/15 K/BB in 38 innings over his last seven outings. He’s not droppable in mixed leagues just yet, but it’d probably be a good idea to sit him in a road start in L.A. next weekend.

King had a 6.41 ERA in his previous five starts, but he succeeded tonight even though 12 of the 20 balls in play against him were hard hit. It helped that he walked none, and he struck out five in an outing for the first time in six starts. We’d still be nervous about using him in shallow leagues at the moment, especially since he’s due to face the Dodgers in his next two outings.

Although his velocity has held up just fine, King has given up 19 runs over 26 2/3 innings in his last five starts, with a particularly hideous 14/11 K/BB. That’s resulted in a drop in his overall strikeout rate from a fine 25.8 percent to a career-low 21 percent. We don’t want to write him off, but we also wouldn’t want to rely on him in a dangerous two-start week against the Braves and Dodgers next week.

King struck out three and walked three. He allowed two homers on the afternoon, including a solo shot to JJ Bleday with two outs in the bottom of the seventh that broke a 2-2 tie. The right-hander has a lower K-BB% than we’ve grown accustomed to, but his ERA and WHIP are right in line with last season. He’ll remain a strong fantasy option next time out in St. Louis.

King tossed a scoreless first inning, then gave up a solo homer to Jared Young in the second. Two more hits in the third inning brought a second run in to score. Luis Torrens later took King deep for a two-run homer in the fifth. King gave the Padres one more scoreless inning, ending his day after six with four strikeouts. He’s hit a bit of a rough patch, with at least four runs allowed in each of his last three starts. The 31-year-old right-hander will look to get back on track when he takes a 3.41 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a 69/29 K/BB ratio across 74 innings into a start against the Reds in San Diego on Wednesday.

It was just one run through six, thanks in part to Jorbit Vivas’s 369-foot fly to right in the fifth turning into an out. Statcast had it as a homer in 26 ballparks. The seventh started with a single, a big miscue from Fernando Tatis Jr. on a grounder to second that went as a fielder’s choice, a walk and a HBP, at which point King was removed. After another botched play in the infield and another walk before the first out was finally recorded, it wound up turning into a six-run inning for the Nationals. King was clearly better than the line suggested, but he dropped to 4-4 with a 3.04 ERA. He’ll likely face the Mets next Friday.

King struck out four. He surrendered a leadoff homer to Carlos Cortes, setting the tone for the rest of his afternoon. He might’ve been due for a clunker given his double-digit walk rate and lack of homers allowed prior to Sunday. He’ll still carry a 2.76 ERA into a road matchup against the Nationals in his next scheduled start.

King ought to buy his catcher dinner after this one, as Rodolfo Durán threw out two of three basestealers and was correct on all three of his challenges behind the plate. Of course, King was pretty good, too, giving up just five hard-hit balls and finishing up with a 35 percent CSW. He’s allowed a total of two runs in his last three starts, and his ERA is down to 2.31. He’ll make his next start at home against the A’s.

King is so much fun to watch when he has everything clicking. His fastball and changeup each forced four swings-and-misses and he was tunneling those two pitches beautifully off each other against left-handed batters. At the same time, his sinker-sweeper combo tormented right-handers. The only run he gave up came after a single by Sal Frelick following an eight-pitch battler, bunt hit, and two straight fielder’s choices. He’ll look to take this momentum into a two-start week against the Dodgers and Athletics with both starts coming at home.