SAN DIEGO -- When the Padres traded Juan Soto to the Yankees last December, two of the names included in the return for San Diego were right-hander Michael King and catcher Kyle Higashioka.

As we all saw, Soto crushed it in his first (and perhaps only?) season in the Bronx. Meanwhile, King and Higashioka, the Padres’ battery for Tuesday’s Game 3 of the NLDS against the Dodgers at Petco Park with the best-of-five series tied at 1, have been key for San Diego in 2024.

King won 13 games with a 2.95 ERA during the regular season. And after registering a 1.57 ERA in four September starts, he threw seven shutout innings with 12 strikeouts in the Padres’ Game 1 win over the Braves in their Wild Card Series a week ago.

“Michael has great presence,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “We knew that coming in until we got from New York. That's part of the reason I was comfortable with [general manager] A.J. [Preller] wanting to acquire him. His makeup and his competitive spirit is something that was coveted. His stuff is outstanding as well.”

King will look to keep it going vs. the Dodgers, who, despite the uncertainty surrounding Freddie Freeman and his injured right ankle, still boast one of the most feared lineups in baseball.

“I'll definitely take a little bit of confidence from it, but definitely needs to be flushed because it's a totally different team,” King said of his preparation between his starts against the Braves and the Dodgers. “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.”

For his part, Higashioka has hit three home runs with a 1.658 OPS in 13 plate appearances in San Diego’s first four playoff games. And his handling of the pitching staff has garnered praise.

“He's been fantastic,” Shildt said of Higashioka. “He's done a great job of being an extension of myself. A catcher-manager relationship is important.

“There's also a really healthy relationship and a connection with [Padres pitching coach] Ruben [Niebla]. Ruben and Higgy are in lockstep, do a lot of really good communication back and forth. It's two-way. It's not top-down. And same with me, we exchange [and] share our ideas and thoughts, and finally, the most important thing is his relationship with the pitchers. That's the most important relationship, is making sure he's synced up with them.”

Hitting has never been Higashioka’s calling card, so his offensive contributions in the playoffs so far can be considered a bonus for the Padres. During the regular season, he helped San Diego’s staff post the NL’s fifth-best ERA at 3.86. And coming into Tuesday’s games, the Padres held the NL lead in team ERA in the postseason at 3.09.

“They all feel comfortable with him and he's working with them on how they want to use their stuff and how they're going to attack guys,” Shildt said of his pitchers’ relationship with Higashioka. “He's just got a great demeanor about him as well. Tremendous asset in the clubhouse, great guy, great energy, great personality, but really smart and [has] done a really good job of shepherding our staff.”