The San Diego Padres lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1, on Thursday evening and fell to 22-15 on the year. The sole offense produced by San Diego came by way of a 264-foot check-swing hit from Xander Bogaerts in the first inning that brought Manny Machado home. Right-hander Michael King had a productive outing as he struck out six across six innings of work. He allowed two walks and two hits, but one of those hits unfortunately was a solo home run that tied things up in the fourth. His ERA improved to 2.76 through eight starts this season. Ahead of the eventual defeat, the Padres transferred right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove to the 60-day injured list. While the move was procedural, Musgrove remains nowhere near a return. After a Tommy John surgery in October 2024, the hope was that the hurler would return for the start of the 2026 campaign. After experiencing a setback during his lone spring training start in an exhibition game, Musgrove has yet to make it back to the mound.…