King's career-high 13 K's leave little doubt he belongs in rotation

NEW YORK -- Michael King’s campaign to rejoin the Yankees’ rotation sparked quietly this spring, with the right-hander grabbing timely opportunities to remind the club’s decision-makers about his starting-pitching pedigree. They saw him as a key part of the bullpen; he wanted another chance to prove himself in a lengthier role.

Coupled with a rash of injuries to the starting five, those seeds yielded a late-season audition, one in which King has already shown enough for manager Aaron Boone to view him as a starting pitcher for the future. King struck out a career-high 13 batters, the most by any Yankee this season, in a 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.

“I’m very thankful,” King said. “I know I had opportunities in 2020 and 2021, but I felt like I didn’t capitalize on them. I also feel like getting on a full five-day routine is great, knowing that I’m starting on the fifth day. I’m very thankful for Boone to allow me to do that.”

The Yanks lost their third consecutive game, unable to muster offense yet again, but that was no fault of King’s. The 28-year-old had his complete repertoire working, registering punchouts on his sinker (6), four-seamer (3), sweeper (3) and changeup (1) while limiting Toronto to one run on five hits in a splendid seven-inning, 101-pitch performance.

Toronto’s only run against King came on Bo Bichette’s infield hit in the third inning, a ball that struck King’s glove as Kevin Kiermaier trotted home.

“That’s a dominant performance,” said Boone, who was ejected in the second inning for arguing balls and strikes. “Even his last start in Boston, that was probably by no means perfect for him. When he’s a little bit off, he’s still hard to score on. He’s really good, and I think it’s exciting moving forward.”

In six starts since joining the rotation full-time, King has authored a 1.27 ERA, permitting just four earned runs with 42 strikeouts across 28 1/3 innings.

“He just adds a lot of value, being able to go along and get multiple times through the lineup,” catcher Austin Wells said. “He’s got a lot of pitches that he throws well that he’s able to attack hitters with. Having an arm like that going the distance is special for our team.”

King said that a nugget of advice from bullpen coach Mike Harkey has been helpful.

“Harkey told me, ‘Treat it like it’s seven one-inning bullpen outings,’” King said. “That’s actually been a good transition piece for me. I feel like I’ve continued to evolve, and I’m hoping that the audition is successful.”

That’s an understatement. As the Yankees look toward 2024, Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes will be coming off injury-marred campaigns, while Luis Severino is headed for free agency.

The Yanks have strong interest in adding Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the top of the rotation, but King’s recent performance suggests that they should show confidence in counting upon him as an important contributor.

“He certainly feels like he can do this, from a starting standpoint,” Boone said. “I think he’s showing everyone that he’s certainly capable of [it]. Now the next step is, can he do it full time in 150, 180 innings as a starter?”

King’s 13 strikeouts were the most by a Yankee since Gerrit Cole fanned 14 Twins on Sept. 7, 2022.

The Yankees mustered little against right-hander Kevin Gausman, who surrendered just three hits over six scoreless innings. Gausman, who is contending against Cole and others for the American League’s Cy Young Award, struck out 10 while walking three.

Tommy Kahnle walked four and tossed two wild pitches in an ugly eighth inning, helping Toronto extend its lead. Ian Hamilton also issued a bases-loaded walk in that frame, relegating Wells’ first career homer in the ninth inning to a footnote.

“It was a big moment for me, but it’s tough that we lost,” Wells said.

Wells swapped a few autographed balls with a young fan for the memento, one of two nice memories to come out of an otherwise discouraging defeat. The other was King’s performance against a formidable Toronto lineup, an outing that the Yanks’ front office figures to refer to as it considers how best to equip the roster in 2024.

“There are things that we need to do differently to be better next year,” King said. “We’ve got to continue to grind, continue to get better, and make sure that next year is not the same result.”