Michael King took the loss Tuesday after allowing three runs in 4.1 innings against the Cardinals. He gave up five hits and three walks, struck out one batter, and hit one batter in the outing.
Michael King’s Tuesday line
The short outing pushed his record to 4-6. He did not reach the fifth inning cleanly, and the Cardinals kept pressure on him with traffic throughout the start.
King’s previous turn looked different. He posted a quality start against the Reds on June 10, then followed it with a start that never settled in Tuesday. That split is the part that stands out for anyone tracking his run support, fantasy outlook, or rotation stability: one outing showed control, the next one let the game slip early.
Cardinals and the five-start slide
The larger concern is the stretch behind this one. King has allowed at least three earned runs in each of his last five starts, and that run has produced a 6.41 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP across 26.2 innings. Those numbers tell the story of an arm that has not held a lineup down for more than one turn at a time.
He has been working through contact and lapses in command at the same time. Five hits and three walks over 4.1 innings left too many baserunners, and the one strikeout offered little cushion when the frame started to unravel.
Atlanta next week
King is expected to make his next start at home against Atlanta next week. For readers making decisions around him, that means the next outing comes quickly, but it also comes after five straight starts in which he has allowed at least three earned runs. The home setting gives him the chance to interrupt that run before it gets any longer.
