The Los Angeles Dodgers had no answer for Michael King and the San Diego Padres.
Even with Yoshinobu Yamamoto's quality start on the mound, the Dodgers were unable to put any runs on the board, as San Diego blanked Los Angeles in the series opener, 1-0.
Yamamoto Hurls on Wrong Side of Pitchers Duel
Yamamoto was coming off his worst start of 2026 against the San Francisco Giants, giving up five earned runs in 6 1/3 innings pitched.
Fast forward to Monday's series opener against the Padres, it was night and day.
For the third time this season, Yamamoto completed seven innings, and for a third straight outing, he's struck out eight or more batters.
May 18, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. — © Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
His lone mistake came in the first inning when he gave up a lazy splitter in the zone to Miguel Andujar that he took 376 feet to center field.
“That specific at-bat, I was pressing a bit," Yamamoto said on his lone run that he gave up. "After that, getting into the second inning, I think I was getting into my groove.”
He generated 15 swings and misses with most of them coming from his cutter.
Even with the singular mistake pitch, the Dodgers' offense provided no room for error on the mound for their ace.
“Yosh made one mistake to the second hitter, hits a homer… and that’s all they could muster up," Dave Roberts said.
King Silences Dodgers Hot Bats
Traveling to San Diego, the Dodgers' offense was hoping to ride the hot bat they had produced back in Anaheim, scoring 31 runs en route to the three-game sweep.
That would not be the case on Monday as they were faced with right-hander Michael King.
Up until Monday, King had not sniffed the seventh inning.
The 30-year-old native from Rochester, New York, was able to shut out the reigning World Series Champions for seven innings. He struck out nine and only gave up four hits.
"I think he just made pitches when he needed to," Roberts said on King's performance. "At sea-level, his ball does a lot of good things. It's always moving."
The Dodgers found themselves with multiple chances throughout Monday's game to score.
May 18, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (13) tosses his bat after striking out during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. — © Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Pitches they should've hit, they looked at for strikes, and any situation with runners in scoring position always came up empty.
Los Angeles had runners in scoring position in the last four innings, but were unable to come up with anything. It looked as though they were ready to mount a comeback against the ever-so dangerous fireballer, Mason Miller.
Miller had lost his command in the ninth inning, walking the first two Dodgers hitters. But the right-hander would settle down and record three straight outs to cap off the win.
When the dust settled, Los Angeles hitters stranded seven men on base and were 0-7 with runners in scoring position.
What's Next?
With the loss, the Padres snap the Dodgers five-game winning streak, and fall to a 29-19 record.
Looking ahead to Tuesday's matchup, Los Angeles will send out Emmet Sheehan, in hopes of making a rubber match situation on Wednesday with Shohei Ohtani on the mound.
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