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The San Diego Padres entered Friday night's series opener against the Boston Red Sox with momentum. However, Nick Pivetta fell short against Walker Buehler, who desperately needed a win for Boston. Despite the loss, Padres manager Mike Shildt is excited about the rematch on Saturday night. The reason? Michael King is coming back to relieve Dylan Cease of the role of ace.
King's injury derailed what had been an effective starting rotation in San Diego this season. Shildt and the Padres' coaching staff have done what they can to weather the storm. However, the team wasn't the same without the former New York Yankee. Luckily for San Diego, the team reinstated the righty from the 60-day injured list, accord to its social media page.
King will take on Lucas Giolito and the Red Sox in his return to the mound. After the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in addition to the Padres' 10-2 loss, San Diego has even more ground to make up in the National League West. Fortunately for King and Co., the gap is just three games and they have plenty of time to track the Dodgers down.
Before going down with his injury, King was in the middle of another dominant campaign. If he had stayed healthy, he would have had a compelling case to join Robert Suarez, Jason Adam, and Adrian Morejon as the Padres' All-Star pitchers. He carries a 4-2 record and a 2.59 ERA into his start against one of the league's hottest offenses.
While King is under pressure to perform immediately upon his return, Shildt has more help around him. San Diego shocked the league when the additions of Mason Miller and Jeffrey Springs joined the team. Springs and Nestor Cortes give the starting rotation depth as the Padres prepare for the postseason.
As of now, Shildt and San Diego are happy to have King off the injured list. The organization hopes that their star pitcher can reinvigorate the team and help them end the season as well as they started it.
