Leadoff walks are bad. Every pitching coach will tell you that. It's a message I'm sure Ruben Niebla will be reiterating after leadoff walks cost his staff in a 3-2 loss to the Astros in Houston on Saturday night.
The Padres built a 2-0 lead on the strength of a monstrous solo home run from Fernando Tatis Jr. and an RBI double from Manny Machado (that scored Tatis Jr.) and that was looking like it might be enough.
Michael King was coming off his first career shutout last Sunday against the Rockies. He took another shutout into the 6th inning before a leadoff walk, something all pitching coaches despise, ended up hurting him. King gave Isaac Paredes a free pass then got the next two hitters without incident.
Christian Walker didn't let King off the hook, smacking a game-tying 2-run homer into the left field seats. An inning later Jeremiah Estrada would suffer the same fate as King.
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The reliever who's been lights out all season walked former Padres catcher Victor Caratini to start the 7th. He, too, got a couple of outs but Paredes lofted a flare into no-man's land, dropping a single between 2nd baseman Tyler Wade and centerfielder Tirso Ornelas (the rookie was called up before the game because Jason Heyward was placed on the 10-day Injured List with a knee issue) to bring home Caratini with the game-winning run.
The Padres suffer just their second losing streak of the year with back-to-back losses. They send Dylan Cease to the mound against Framber Valdez on Sunday night trying to avoid getting swept.
