San Diego, CA
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:
San Diego, CA
UNLV faces San Diego State after Hamilton’s 24-point performance
UNLV Rebels (16-14, 11-8 MWC) at San Diego State Aztecs (19-10, 13-6 MWC)
San Diego; Friday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: UNLV faces San Diego State after Kimani Hamilton scored 24 points in UNLV’s 92-65 victory over the Utah State Aggies.
The Aztecs have gone 13-2 in home games. San Diego State is eighth in the MWC with 9.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Miles Heide averaging 2.0.
The Rebels have gone 11-8 against MWC opponents. UNLV ranks eighth in the MWC shooting 34.4% from 3-point range.
San Diego State averages 79.1 points per game, 0.6 more points than the 78.5 UNLV gives up. UNLV averages 7.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.9 fewer made shots on average than the 9.1 per game San Diego State allows.
The teams play for the second time in conference play this season. San Diego State won the last meeting 82-71 on Jan. 24. Miles Byrd scored 23 points points to help lead the Aztecs to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Reese Dixon-Waters is shooting 35.9% from beyond the arc with 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Aztecs, while averaging 13 points. Byrd is averaging 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds over the past 10 games.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn is shooting 50.9% and averaging 20.6 points for the Rebels. Hamilton is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Aztecs: 5-5, averaging 74.9 points, 28.9 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.0 points per game.
Rebels: 6-4, averaging 84.1 points, 32.3 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 6.4 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.8 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
San Diego, CA
Military bases in San Diego County increase security following Iran attacks
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Military bases in San Diego County and nationwide have increased security measures due to last weekend’s U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, prompting traffic delays near base entrances, enhanced ID checks and access restrictions.
The Naval Air Station North Island on Coronado ports three aircraft carriers, including the San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln, which led some of the first-wave attacks on Saturday.
Naval Base Coronado warned motorists of possible traffic delays at all base entry points due to the increased security measures.
Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.
The U.S. operation, dubbed “Epic Fury,” and Israeli operation, “Raging Lion,” began striking targets at 1:15 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday.
As of Tuesday, at least six U.S. service members had been killed in action.
The strikes also killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who had been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, making him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East.
Iran’s offensive forces claimed to have struck USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles, but according to an X post from U.S central Command, “The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.”
Those with concerns regarding the heightened security can contact San Diego County’s Office of Emergency Services at 858-565-3490 or oes@sdcounty.ca.gov.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
San Diego, CA
SD Unified moves forward with layoffs of classified employees
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Less than 3 weeks after the San Diego Unified School District finalized a new contract with teachers, the school board voted unanimously on Tuesday to move forward with layoff notices for other district employees.
The layoffs affect classified employees — workers who are employed by the district but are not teachers and are not certified. That includes bus drivers, custodians, special education and teacher aides, and cafeteria workers.
The district says it is eliminating 221 positions — 133 that are currently filled and 88 that are vacant — to save $19 million and help address a projected $47 million deficit for the next fiscal year.
Preliminary layoff notices will go out on March 15, with final notices by May 15.
The district estimates about 200 classified employees will receive preliminary notices, but of them, about 70 are expected to lose their jobs based on union-negotiated bumping rules.
Bumping allows employees with more seniority to move into another position in the same classification, thereby “bumping” a less senior employee out of that role.
Lupe Murray, an early childhood special education parafacilitator with the district, said the news came as a shock after the teacher strike was called off.
“When the strike was called off, I’m like, ‘Yes!’ So then when I got the email from the Superintendent, I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ So, I think everyone was shocked,” Murray said.
The district says it sends out annual layoff notices, as all districts in the state do.
Before Tuesday’s board meeting, classified employees rallied outside, made up of CSEA (California School Employees Association) Chapters OTBS 788, Paraeducators 759, and OSS 724. They were joined by parents, students, and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
Miguel Arellano, a paraeducator independence facilitator with San Diego Unified and a representative of San Diego Paraeducators Cahpter 759.
“What do we want? No layoffs! When do we want it? Now!” the crowd chanted.
Arellano said he felt compelled to act when he learned about the potential layoffs.
“The first thing that went through my mind was that I need to speak up. I need to protect these people,” Arellano said.
Inside the meeting, the board heard emotional, at times tearful testimony from classified employees before voting unanimously to move forward with the layoff schedule.
Superintendent Fabi Bagula said the district has tried to protect classrooms from the cuts.
“We have tried our best to only, I mean, to not touch the school. Or the classroom. But now it’s at the point where it’s getting a little bit harder,” Bagula said. “What I’m still hoping, or what I’m still working toward, because we’re still in negotiations, is that we’re able to actually come to a win-win, where there’s positions and availability and maybe even promotions for folks that are impacted.”
Arellano warned the layoffs could have a direct impact on students.
“We are already spread thin, so, with more of a case load, it’s going to be impossible to be able to service all the students that we need to have,” Arellano said.
Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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