SAN FRANCISCO – Despite his career-best 21 2/3-inning scoreless streak ending just two batters into the bottom of the first on Rafael Devers’ two-run homer, Michael King powered through, laying the groundwork for San Diego’s 7-6 win over the Giants on Saturday at Oracle Park. It was the sixth straight win for the Padres, who remain hot as they seek to secure a spot in the National League Wild Card picture. They improved to 1 1/2 games ahead of the D-backs for the final playoff berth and 1 1/2 games behind the Phillies for the second Wild Card. Shay Whitcomb got to King for a homer on a hanging sweeper in the second, though that concluded the damage King allowed on the day. He shook off those early issues, retiring 14 straight after the Whitcomb blast and 18 of 19 overall between Devers’ homer and Jonah Cox’s single leading off the seventh. King only faced four batters over the minimum, finishing his day with 96 pitches across seven innings, with five hits, four strikeouts and zero walks. “Offense picked me up and allowed me to settle in, and then it felt like it was pretty good execution after that second home run,” said King. San Diego scored in six of the first seven innings, a cushion that proved valuable when Bradgley Rodriguez allowed the Giants to get back into the game with a pair of homers in the bottom of the eighth. Called upon to defuse any thoughts of a late-game disaster, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller nailed down the victory. “Michael gave up a couple home runs early, but we bounced back,” said manager Craig Stammen. “We fought back, scored runs to match them. We really tacked on runs almost every single inning, handled their pitching really well today. Ran the bases well. Played good defense. Just that eighth inning, Bradgley just didn't have it today. But then that's the nice thing about having Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller right behind him.”
