One day before the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers face off in a National League West weekend showdown series, the Padres put pitcher Michael King on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation. King was scheduled to start Friday's series opener at Dodger Stadium.
King, 30, has the best ERA among San Diego's starting pitcher at 2.81 with 65 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings. However, he's been limited to 11 starts and just returned to the active roster on Aug. 9 after a previous IL stint due to shoulder inflammation that sidelined him since May 18.
The Padres go into Friday's matchup with a one-game lead over the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. They took the top spot in the division for the first time since April 25 after the Dodgers lost to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, while San Diego defeated the San Francisco Giants.
King has not faced the Dodgers this year. But in his first season with the Padres, he compiled a 3.10 ERA and 2-0 record with 23 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings.
San Diego hasn't announced a starter in King's place for Friday. Yet the team called Randy Vásquez up from Triple-A El Paso after he made a start on Sunday night, so pitching on Friday would line up with his regular rotation schedule.
Vásquez wasn't particularly impressive in that outing, allowing five runs, five hits and three walks in three innings. He was sent down to the minors following the MLB trade deadline so the Padres could activate new acquisition Nestor Cortes. Prior to his demotion, Vásquez made 22 starts, logging a 3.93 ERA and 3-5 record with 55 strikeouts in 107 2/3 innings.
Dylan Cease (5-10, 4.52 ERA) is scheduled to start on Saturday, followed by Yu Darvish (2-3, 5.61) on Sunday. Blake Snell (2-1, 2.67) is the Dodgers' scheduled starter for Saturday with Tyler Glasnow (1-1, 3.08) going on Sunday. Clayton Kershaw (6-2, 3.14) will start for the Dodgers on Friday.
The Dodgers and Padres will play another three-game series next weekend at Petco Park in San Diego.
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