King beats Yamamoto in an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel
Shut out for the first time in May, the Dodgers were on the losing end of a pitchers’ duel between King and Yamamoto
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 18: Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the second inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on May 18, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images Who would have thought that when Miguel Andujar scored a run in the first on a solo homer, he’d be scoring the only one in this game as the Padres won it 1-0?
Seldom throughout the course of the 2026 season did Yoshinobu Yamamoto find an opponent capable and effective in going toe-to-toe with him through a start—Michael King had something to say about that, as the Padres’ ace outdueled him, shutting down an offense that was just coming off scoring a whopping 31 runs in three games against the Angels, sweeping their way through the first of three straight series away from home. With seven scoreless innings, King was able to maintain the smallest of leads, and the Padres’ bullpen closed the door despite some late scares. For those of you who weren’t following the Padres all that closely as of yet, considering this is the first meeting between these clubs in 2026, King is at the core of these successful first few months that have the Padres battling the Dodgers for the NL West lead.
The Padres’ starter, who came into this game having allowed no more than two earned runs in seven of his nine starts, faced the minimum through his first five innings, seeing the two base runners he allowed thrown out trying to steal second. Interestingly, a similar pattern took place in the sixth, this time with a lead-off base runner erased following a double play. At least the Dodgers managed to work up King’s pitch count, which was surprisingly in check for a starter who recorded nine strikeouts in his first five innings, even if they failed to do damage by stranding two base runners in the sixth.
Unfazed by seeing Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani thrown out on the basepaths earlier in the game—also somewhat pressed to create action with how well King was pitching—Kyle Tucker stole second with two outs in the seventh. Unfortunately, Max Muncy couldn’t drive him in with a dangerous fly ball caught in right-center. That at-bat wrapped up seven scoreless for King on an even 100 pitches.