A single swing from Manny Machado was all the San Diego Padres needed Monday night, as they shut out the Atlanta Braves 1-0 behind a dominant pitching performance.
Michael King took the mound and delivered seven shutout innings, giving up six hits while walking nobody and striking out five. It marked King’s first victory since May 18, when he also earned a 1-0 decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers. King, who had dropped his previous four decisions, threw 62 of his 93 pitches for strikes. He improved to 5-6 on the season.
Adrian Morejon handled a clean eighth inning, and Mason Miller navigated some late trouble in the ninth to record his 21st save in as many opportunities. Austin Riley singled and Dominic Smith drew a walk, but Mike Yastrzemski went down on a called third strike to end the game.
Atlanta starter Grant Holmes fell to 4-4 after allowing three hits and the game’s lone run across 4 2/3 innings, walking five and striking out four. The Braves’ bullpen contributed 3 1/3 scoreless frames, but it wasn’t enough as Atlanta dropped its eighth game in its last 11.
The decisive moment came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Holmes left a 1-2 slider up in the zone, and Machado didn’t miss it — driving his 14th home run of the year to center field. The ball traveled an estimated 418 feet, landing in the San Diego bullpen.
Atlanta had opportunities to get on the board against King but couldn’t deliver when it mattered. In the second inning, Michael Harris II and Riley opened with back-to-back singles, but King induced two grounders and a lineout to strand both runners.
The Braves threatened again in the sixth when Matt Olson singled and eventually reached third base on Ozzie Albies’ groundout, aided by a throwing error from first baseman Ty France. However, Harris grounded out to leave Olson stranded.
San Diego also left runs on the table, going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranding nine baserunners. Rodolfo Duran grounded into a double play in the second with two runners on, and struck out with runners at the corners in the fourth. In the eighth, Machado led off with a double and Xander Bogaerts drew a two-out walk, but pinch-hitter Jase Bowen struck out to end the threat.
Riley finished as the game’s top hitter, going 3-for-4 on the night.
