Padres can finally feel good after much-needed laugher over Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The San Diego Padres drove in runners. Lots of runners.

More than they had all season.

“It was needed,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said afterward. “It’s definitely great when it’s your team doing it.”

A day after squandering piles of opportunities and losing a second straight game, which was its own kind of grander missed opportunity, the Padres beat the Kansas City Royals 19-2 on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.

They scored four runs in the second inning, two in the third and one apiece in the fourth and sixth on solo home runs by Jackson Merrill and Tatis. A five-run eighth was capped by Ty France’s grand slam. Merrill and France homered again in a six-run ninth inning, by which time infielder Tyler Tolbert was pitching for the Royals.

“It’s a good feeling,” France said. “It felt like we haven’t done it in forever. So, it’s nice. … Came out and played the baseball that we’re capable of.”

By salvaging the finale of the three-game series, the Padres kept pace in a National League wild-card race in which they have fallen to the fringes.

They came out of the All-Star break 3 1/2 games behind the Marlins in the race for the final NL playoff spot. Three days later, they are 3 1/2 games behind the Cardinals in the race for that spot.

That is an OK-news and could-have-been-better-news situation. The Padres could have gained ground if they had not lost a three-run lead in the 10th inning Friday and/or gotten a few more hits with runners in scoring position Saturday.

“We let the first one get away from us, so it’s huge today that we came out and did what we did,” France said. “But we’ve got an important seven games left of this road trip, and we’ve got to continue to play like we did today.”

All the Padres could do Sunday was try to not let the season continue to slip further away.

They began this trip, which still has four games in Atlanta and three in Miami remaining, with the knowledge that they are running out of time to persuade president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and ownership that they should be willing to invest at the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Two losses to a team that on Friday was tied for the worst record in the major leagues made Sunday akin to a must-win.

“We couldn’t let that team sweep us,” Tatis said. “Just in where we are trying to get. Nothing against that team. But man, it was a battle. We know where we’re at. We know what is in play, and we want to give a chance to (Preller) to make us better and to go on a long run.”

They went out and gave hope a chance for at least another day.

After stranding a runner who reached second base with one out in the first inning, they went about being highly productive.

A day after they twice grounded into an inning-ending double play with a runner at third base and got their only hit in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position on a bunt single, the Padres finished 8 for 18 with runners in scoring position Sunday.

For the third consecutive game, the Royals struck first with an early home run. This one was hit 432 feet to right field by Jac Caglianone off Germán Márquez in the first inning.

The Padres’ four-run second inning began with an out before singles by Luis Rengifo and Jase Bowen and a walk by Luis Campusano loaded the bases. Tatis drove in two runs with a single and Merrill’s single made it 3-1. A sacrifice fly by Manny Machado drove in the fourth run.

“It was huge, especially because … the last couple games we were not at our best, you know, getting those runners in,” Tatis said. “I feel to open a game like that and to go ahead early, it definitely helped us to get an advantage for the rest of the game.”

Doubles by Xander Bogaerts and Bowen and a single by Campusano in the third had the Padres up 6-1.

The Royals got to 6-2 with a pair of doubles in the bottom of the third before Tatis got the lead back to five runs with his second homer in as many days.

There was still one more tense moment.

The Royals loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth inning when Josh Rojas singled and two straight runners reached on ground balls — one of which Manny Machado threw that wide of second and one that Bogaerts threw too-late to second.

But Yuki Matsui replaced Márquez and struck out leadoff hitter Carter Jensen before ending the inning by getting Nick Loftin to ground into a double play.

“That was the biggest part of the game,” manager Craig Stammen said. “We got out to a good lead, 7-2, but even then the game is in the balance there. … Just an amazing effort from him, coming in and being a hero.”

From there, it was a laugher.

Even before getting six hits and scoring five times against Tolbert in the final inning, the Padres had surpassed their previous season high in runs (10) and were one hit shy of equaling their season high (14) in hits.

The 17-run margin of victory was the second-largest in franchise history behind a 21-0 victory at Colorado on May 10, 2025. And it comes 18 days after the Padres suffered the biggest loss in team history, 23-3 at Chicago.

“We were able to laugh a little bit at the end of the game,” Stammen said. “It has been so serious here trying to piece this season together. It’s nice to put some smiles out there and be on the other end of one of these games. It doesn’t feel good for the Royals. We know how that feels. But it’s good to be on the other end of this and create some positivity and some laughter — like, a ‘Hey, baseball is fun again’ type of feeling we can take into a very important series in Atlanta.”

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