The San Diego Padres lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon and fell to 43-39 on the year. Right-handed pitcher Michael King went 4.1 innings, striking out five while allowing four earned runs and four walks. His ERA rose to 3.55 as he was handed his seventh loss of the season. On the offensive side of things, superstar third baseman Manny Machado got the Friars on the board with a towering solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. After a three-run fifth inning by the Dodgers, Xander Bogaerts brought Jackson Merrill home in the sixth inning, but that would be the extent of the Padres offense on Sunday. In other news, Padres manager Craig Stammen spoke on what infielder Jake Cronenworth's return timeline is like as he continues to recover from a concussion. “I think he’s gonna give us a little bit of indication of, ‘Yeah, I feel ready, my timing is back,’” Stammen said. “It’s a little bit almost like spring training, where we’ve got to just more so — not like health-wise but just like baseball-wise — am I ready to play baseball? Am I ready to play every day when I get back?”Additionally, right-hander Walker Buehler appears to be back to his All-Star and World Series-clinching self with a 1.71 ERA over his last five starts.After a convincing performance on Friday where Buehler allowed just one run and struck out five across 5.1 innings, Dodgers third baseman and former teammate Max Muncy best encapsulated what Buehler's return to familiar form has been like. “His command was really good tonight," Muncy said. “He was mixing his pitches — but he’s always done that. Just the way it looks, he’s a couple years removed from losing his velocity. That happens when you have injuries. I just think he’s learned how to navigate that.“He’s a very smart pitcher. He always has been. I think it’s just took time for him to learn what his arsenal was and go from there.”Finally, the Padres have been linked to a Baltimore Orioles slugger as trade deadline rumors intensify. With the offense ranking last in MLB in batting average and OPS, bringing in a power bat (or two) before Aug. 3 can prove to be season-altering for the Friars. Here’s all the latest Padres news and stories (click the headline for the full article): Padres Manager Discusses Jake Cronenworth's Return Timeline From Concussion Dodgers Say Walker Buehler Looks Like New Pitcher Amid Resurgence With Padres Padres Connected to 36-Homer Slugger Expected to Be Traded Ahead of Deadline Padres Have Little-Known Prospect Suddenly Putting Himself on the MapPadres Tweets of the DayThe Man. The Myth. The Manny. pic.twitter.com/3im73Ocz1p— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 28, 2026Padres manager Craig Stammen discussed Jake Cronenworth's return timeline as he comes back from a concussion⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/MDklqJ5mu6— Padres On SI (@PadresOnSI) June 28, 2026Sung-Mun Song getting ready to play second base for the Padres today. pic.twitter.com/6aBdgqUd3l— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) June 28, 2026— Padres Highlights (@FriarHighlights) June 28, 2026— Annie Heilbrunn (@annieheilbrunn) June 28, 2026Gavin Sheets getting ready to play first base today against the Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/A1oZWwITpi— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) June 28, 2026Rodolfo Durán on not challenging the costly walk to Freddie Freeman"That's on me, I need to do a better job with it. I thought it was lower but it wasn't."@FriarTerritory pic.twitter.com/HFsSBQEUk5— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) June 29, 2026Xander Bogaerts cuts the Dodgers' lead in half with an RBI single#Padres looking to come back and win#forthefaithful pic.twitter.com/bb1M5XGdAm— Padres Highlights (@FriarHighlights) June 28, 2026Valiant effort by Chef Yuki. I really like his sweeper and wish he used it just a bit more than he regularly does. pic.twitter.com/9FkEASfPmo— Francis Alipranti (Papa Frank) (@fxalipranti_) June 28, 2026Here is how things would line up if the Postseason started today 👀 pic.twitter.com/8GrXaBlS3a— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2026Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X/Twitter for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow