NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 7, 2024

Michael King

Dodger Stadium

San Diego Padres

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. You're fresh off New York-Boston. How did last night compare to the rivalry you left behind?

MICHAEL KING: Similar, especially in a playoff atmosphere. It definitely makes it a little more intense. But, yeah, that's what we expect in terms of the atmosphere and also performance.

Q. You've spoken about an appreciation, an evolution of appreciation of Fernando Tatis Jr. from afar, the way you thought about him when you weren't his teammate. What did you see from him last night? And seems like seems like he relishes playing the villain in that?

MICHAEL KING: Definitely hated pitching against him. He's such a talent you never want him up in big spots when you're the opposing team. But as a player, I mean, the guy does not shy away from the moment.

And one thing I admire about him is when he does succeed, which is often, he's celebrating with his teammates. It's never to show up another team or another player; it's like he's just having fun with his teammates. And that's something that I didn't realize when I was playing against him. But as a teammate, he's absolutely incredible.

Q. What could you learn from watching Yu Darvish pitch to that lineup yesterday?

MICHAEL KING: That's why Darvish has had such a decorated career. His demeanor in big games and big spots is something that I'll always admire. I try to be as stoic as possible but sometimes the emotions get to me.

Doesn't seem like it affects Darvish. And even going into that game if we lose that game we're down 2-0 and it's a big uphill battle for us. Having the composure that he did and how dominant he was, it's always impressive to watch him work.

Q. Circling back to the rivalry between the two teams, how much of that -- how aware were you of that when you got traded over the offseason, and what you've learned and discovered about it since then?

MICHAEL KING: I felt like I saw it a lot in the '22 playoffs. I think that's what was in my head coming over here. And it's honestly, yeah, how the fans treat each other.

If there's going to be fights in the crowd, you know they're not going to be saying nice things when we're in LA. When you go to a team that doesn't care, you don't see that.

Similar in Boston, when I was a Yankee, fans there are going to get on you. It's one of my favorite things about the game, because I think hearing a pin drop in an opposing stadium is the joy of this game.

Feeling that yesterday in the eighth and ninth inning was really fun.

Q. Do you in particular feed off that extra energy when you're out there?

MICHAEL KING: Of course. I think it's something that, as a player, you've got to feed off of. You've got to add it to your game and make the pressure become an added privilege.

And you know that you're out there playing a kids' game, but when you have thousands of fans rooting against you and cussing at you, it's a lot more fun.

Q. What does the response that you guys had as a team last night kind of say about the makeup of this club?

MICHAEL KING: Big credit to Manny. Manny had us all come together. I also think that the performance still is what matters more than the team just coming together and saying we're going to stick together.

And seeing those last couple of innings, how we responded was a huge positive.

I also think it starts with Darvish. Darvish had however long of a break while he was standing out there on the mound in the seventh inning, and he goes out there and puts up a 0.

And I think at that point it was still 4-1. It's a big situation for us to calm down the noise. And he put up the zero, kept the momentum on our side. And we went out there put up however many runs.

Q. You're coming off a high-intensity start, maybe more juice going into this one. What do you do with that, knowing that it's going to be maybe even more of an edge on the other side and the environment and all that?

MICHAEL KING: I know I joked in my first one that my pitch count would have to be up a little bit. I think with the opposing team coming in, it will be a little bit louder. I know these fans show out and they're definitely going to make it an uncomfortable environment for the Dodgers.

Q. What do you do with the success of your last start? Is it a confidence booster, or are you the type of guy that just flushes it and then on to the next one?

MICHAEL KING: I'll definitely take a little bit of confidence from it, but definitely needs to be flush because it's a totally different team. I've got a totally different approach.

I can't use the same sequences. Can't use the same pitches to a lot of these hitters, and then it's just continuing to be able to read swings and trust Higgy.

Q. Yu Darvish did a nice job against Ohtani last night, held him hitless, he goes 0-for-4. How do you view that match-up in the lineup in particular and in the context of the lineup, 1 through 9?

MICHAEL KING: All credit to Darvish. Obviously he's what makes them go. If you can control him -- I also think if you can keep runners off base when he's on -- when he's at the plate, is a huge thing.

He did a phenomenal job. He's Shohei Ohtani. You know he has the ability to get you even if you execute pitches. It's really just limiting the damage when he's up there.

I'll definitely be asking Darvish what he was seeing and what his approach was.

Q. Last night was kind of like -- I've seen it on a regular Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. How would you compare the two?

MICHAEL KING: I would disagree. Yeah, Yankee fans are nuts as well. Very fun to play in front of. Very fun to play against. And you fully expect that. It's a rivalry. It's a heated baseball game and we were winning. So, you get those frustrated fans.

Like I said before, it's very fun to see the disappointment on opposing fans' faces. And I hope to continue to do that for the rest of October.

Q. I think after Game 1 there was a lot of narratives around just walking Ohtani. But what's it say about starting pitchers to go after a guy like that and take pride and to obviously have success in Game 2?

MICHAEL KING: I think It's a confidence booster, not just for the pitcher but the team. I think all of our stuff, when executed, plays against hitter. Obviously Ohtani is probably the best in the game.

But it's that competing factor and they still have Mookie and Freddie and Teoscar behind them. Yes, you don't want Ohtani to be the guy that beats you. But you also have to be able to execute because you don't want to have to face those three guys with him on base, especially with the speed that he has.

So it's a game that needs to be played. But I also think it's a confidence booster to be able to getting a guy like that out.