San Diego, CA

Michael King starts strong, then Padres’ bullpen finishes off Pirates

Published

1 year ago

August 14, 2024

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Michael King starts strong, then Padres’ bullpen finishes off Pirates

The Padres’ bullpen can take a long deep breath on Thursday.

Rather, it should take a long deep breath then.

Because a three-game stay at hitter-friendly Coors Field sits on the other side of Thursday’s oasis and that will start a string of 18 straight games that will carry the season into September.

Michael King did what he could to provide an early blow with six strong innings on Tuesday. Then David Peralta provided some late thunder via his fifth homer and the bullpen again walked a tight rope in securing a 3-0 win in front of a sellout crowd of 42,949 at Petco Park.

“We got the horses down there that like you could just turn it over in a (tight) game,” King said after getting the Padres started on winning for the 18th time in 21 games, a franchise first. “Honestly that’s why we’re winning a lot of close games.”

This victory clinched the Padres’ eighth straight series win heading into Wednesday’s finale against a reeling Pirates team that has lost nine in a row and all five so far this season to the Padres.

It’s a push that has the Padres perched atop the NL wild-card standings with the Diamondbacks, but it has not been easy of late as five of the previous six games had been decided by a single run and the Padres were victorious in all but Sunday’s game in Miami.

The Padres only had a three-run cushion at the end after Manny Machado singled through the middle of the infield in the eighth to drive in Luis Arraez, who singled to start the inning and moved to second when Bryan De La Cruz fumbled the ball in right field.

Before that, the Padres had pinned their hopes on King’s gem, earlier gifts from the Pirates and Jason Adam and Tanner Scott stranding runners at third base in the seventh and eighth innings.

Robert Suarez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 27th save.

“It’s been 50-50,” Machado said. “You’re just talking about one week worth of baseball. It’s been tight. I mean, baseball’s up and down. Honestly in that week we’ve been winning games. That’s all that really matters at the end of the day. Two weeks ago, we were scoring runs and pitching wasn’t giving up any runs. Now it’s flipped. Now it’s been we’ve been hitting and we’ve been giving up some runs and it’s been tight games. …

“It’s the beauty of baseball. Every week it’s something different. You just gotta try to come out on the opposite side of winning ballgames and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

Indeed.

The Padres entered Tuesday with a 17-13 record in one-run games and a 28-19 record in two-run games.

Peralta’s 410-foot blast to right in the fifth inning certainly allowed King to breathe a bit easier Tuesday.

He struck out 10 batters in turning in the first quality start by a Padres pitcher other than Martín Pérez since King pitched into the seventh inning in a win on July 27 in Baltimore.

King still needed to tread carefully because he allowed seven hits — albeit on quite a bit of soft contact — but two double plays carried quite a bit of water.

The first was started by Cronenworth at first base in the fifth inning, ending the frame after Andrew McCutchen’s one-out single.

King helped his own case after Oneil Cruz led off the sixth with a single, fielding a comebacker from Joey Bart and whirling to second to start a double play. He then struck out Rowdy Tellez for his 10th punchout and walked off the mound with just 93 pitches over six innings.

“I always judge my outings based on how many innings I can go,” King said. “I think that the most valuable thing a starting pitch can do is go deep into games. And it’s not something that I am thinking about when I’m out there. But the double plays really, really helped that pitch count.”

King did not walk a batter in a start for the first time in 15 starts. None of the hits he allowed went for extra bases and three didn’t crack 75 mph off the bat.

After King’s exit, Adam was the first reliever out of the gate and he stranded a runner at third with two strikeouts after hitting a batter to start the seventh.

Scott also left a runner on third in the eighth despite allowing a one-out double to Bryan Reynolds and Suarez allowed a two-out single in the ninth before ending the game.

The arrival of Adam, of course, was the start a bullpen overhaul that saw Scott and swingman Bryan Hoeing arrive from Miami shortly after.

Since Adam’s arrival on July 29, the bullpen’s ERA entering Tuesday was 2.75, fourth lowest among relief corps over that stretch.

The Padres did not collect a hit on Tuesday until Cronenworth’s leadoff single in the fourth inning and he was promptly picked off first base.

King was still protecting a lead, however, because of the Pirates’ first-inning gifts.

Like Arraez’s leadoff walk, a Luis Ortiz breaking ball that struck Jurickson Profar in the foot and the missed catch at second base on Cronenworth’s would-be, double-play tapper back to the mound.

That loaded the bases and Machado cashed in one run on a sacrifice fly to center field. But the rally was halted immediately after that when Xander Bogaerts bounced to third base to start an inning-ending double play.

Originally Published: August 13, 2024 at 9:14 p.m.

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San Diego, CA

Barricaded individual in custody following police response in Mission Valley

Published

12 hours ago

January 8, 2026

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Barricaded individual in custody following police response in Mission Valley

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego Police responded to a barricaded individual in the Mission Valley area Thursday afternoon, prompting a heavy law enforcement presence.

The Nexstar Media video above details resources for crime victims

The department confirmed around 1 p.m. that officers were on scene in the 1400 block of Hotel Circle North, and are working to safely resolve the situation. Authorities asked the public to avoid the area and allow officers the space needed to conduct their operations.

Police described the incident as a domestic violence restraining order violation. At this time, it’s unknown if the person is armed.

No injuries have been reported.

The suspect was taken into custody within an hour.

Further details about the barricaded person were not immediately released. Police say updates will be shared as more information becomes available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Luis Campusano

Published

24 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Padres roster review: Luis Campusano – San Diego Union-Tribune

LUIS CAMPUSANO

Position(s): Catcher
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2026 opening day age: 27
Height / Weight: 5-foot-10 / 232 pounds
How acquired: Second round of the draft in 2017 (Cross Creek HS, Ga.)
Contract status: Will make $900,000 after agreeing to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration; Will not be a free agent until 2029.
fWAR in 2025: Minus-0.4
Key 2025 stats: .000 AVG, .222 OBP, .000 SLG, 0 HRs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts, 0 steals (10 games, 27 plate appearances)

STAT TO NOTE

1 — The number of plate appearances for Campusano while in the majors between June 1 and June 13 and the one at-bat resulted in a weak, pinch-hit groundout against a position player (Kike Hernandez) on the mound in mop-up duty. Campusano was recalled to the majors four times in 2025 but did not get a real opportunity get settled after he went 0-for-6 with four walks and a strikeout in three straight starts as a DH in early May. Of course, hitting .227/.281/.361 with eight homers over 299 plate appearances after getting the first real chance to start in 2024 likely informed how the Padres viewed his opportunity in 2025.

Down — Called up a final time on the last day of the regular season, Campusano balked at the idea that the season did not go the way he wanted. “I had a great season,” he said as he and his teammates packed for the NL Wild Card Series in Chicago. And he did … for Triple-A El Paso. He hit more home runs than ever (25), drove in more runs (95) and finished with a career-high 1.036 OPS, tops among all qualifying Triple-A hitters. The disappointment inferred in the question posed to Campusano was that he was not able to impact the big-league team in any way in 2025, which began with the team choosing to bring in a 40-year-old Yuli Gurriel a chance on the opening day roster over a homegrown product. Once billed as the catcher of the future, Campusno did not catch a single game in the majors, nor did he get any hits, although the opportunity to play was sporadic after getting three straight starts as a DH in early May (see stat to note). The Padres even lost back-up catcher Elias Díaz to an oblique injury over the final weekend of the regular season, but Campusano — who played out the string for a Triple-A El Paso team that did not make the playoffs rather than participate in the majors as a September call-up — was added to the postseason roster more as a right-handed bat than a third catcher (Martín Maldonado was also re-added to the team for the playoffs as the defensive back-up to Freddy Fermin). Campusano, of course, was not asked to help the team in either capacity before the Padres were eliminated in three games.

2026 OUTLOOK

Campusano is finally out of minor league options this year, so the Padres will either have to carry him on the roster, trade him or expose him to waivers. He has fans in the organization, but two big-league staffs headed by Bob Melvin and Mike Shildt seemingly lost faith in his ability to catch a game and all the responsibilities that come with that. It remains to be seen what impact the arrival of robo umps will have on how new manager Craig Stammen views Campusano’s ability behind the plate, but he’s been a potent minor league hitter who has yet to truly get on track in the majors beyond the second half of 2023 (.875 OPS, 6 HRs). Campusano has dabbled at first base in recent years in the minors (12 starts total), so perhaps he settles into a role as a second catcher/right-handed DH/first base option to start 2026.

Luis Campusano #15 of the San Diego Padres and Nick Pivetta #27 walk to the dugout during a practice before the Wildcard series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sept. 29, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

ROSTER RANKINGS

22. C Luis Campusano
23. LHP Yuki Matsui
24. INF Sung-Mun Song
25. RHP Matt Waldron
26. OF Bryce Johnson
27. RHP Ron Marinaccio
28. RHP Bryan Hoeing
29. LHP Kyle Hart
30. RHP Jhony Brito
31. INF Will Wagner
32. OF Tirso Ornelas
33. RHP Garrett Hawkins
34. RHP Miguel Mendez
35. RHP Daison Acosta
36. RHP Ty Adcock
37. RHP Alek Jacob
38. INF Mason McCoy

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San Diego, CA

2 San Diego Eateries Named Among ‘Most Beautiful New Restaurants’ In America

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

2 San Diego Eateries Named Among ‘Most Beautiful New Restaurants’ In America

SAN DIEGO, CA — Two San Diego County eateries were named among the most beautiful restaurants that opened last year in the country.

Carlsbad-based Lilo was ranked No. 4 and La Jolla-based Lucien was ranked No. 9 on Robb Report’s list of the most beautiful new restaurants in the U.S. for 2025.

Lilo, which opened in April, features a multi-course tasting menu served around a 24-seat chef’s counter.

The restaurant, co-owned by Chef Eric Bost and John Resnick, earned a Michelin star just months after opening its doors. The eatery was also the only one in San Diego to land on The New York Times list of the 50 best restaurants in America.

Lucien, which opened in July, also offers a chef’s tasting menu, with more than a dozen courses. The 30-seat restaurant, is owned and helmed by Northern California native Chef Elijah Arizmendi, along with partners Brian Hung and Melissa Lang.

“I’m very grateful for the recognition from Robb Report,” Arizmendi told Patch. “Lucien is deeply personal to me, and the space was designed as an extension of my philosophy — one centered on intention, hospitality and the joy of sharing something meaningful to others.”

The list spotlights 21 restaurants in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and other cities across the country. View the full report here.

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