The opportunities were there most of the afternoon for the San Diego Padres, but inability to convert with men in scoring position led to a 6-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.
Outside of a Fernando Tatis Jr. solo home run, San Diego (48-50) went 1-for-9 on RISP opportunities and had a pair of promising situations stymied by double plays — three innings ended with twin-takeouts. The Royals (40-59) scored in four separate innings, getting home runs from Lane Thomas and Salvador Perez to take the series.
Having left runners in scoring position in all four of the first five innings where they didn’t score, the fifth inning was the toughest empty set for San Diego.
Freddy Fermin, in his return to Kansas City, led off with a ground-rule double down the left field line and Tatis walked, prompting a mound visit. Then another walk, this time with one down to Xander Bogaerts, loaded the bases. But reliever Steven Cruz got Manny Machado to bounce into a six-four-three double play to end the threat.
It happened again in the sixth, as after Ty France’s second double of the game and Jake Cronenworth dropped a bunt for a hit with one out, reliever Daniel Lynch IV got Miguel Andujar to hit into the same inning-ending fate. Lynch would go on to earn the win.
The Royals followed up by adding additional breathing room on Perez’s 12th home run of the season, a two-run blast off reliever Matt Waldron that made it 6-1.
After getting Tatis aboard with a lead off walk and into scoring position with his 24th stolen base of the season, the Padres came up empty in the opening inning and saw Kansas City jump ahead their first time up.
After Carter Jensen hit a lead-off single, with two down, Thomas was able to stay back on a knuckle curve and sent it 421 feet into the seats in left field off San Diego starter Griffin Canning. It was the second game in a row that Thomas homered on his first at bat, his ninth big fly of the year, giving KC a 2-0 lead.
Having left runners in scoring position the first two innings, the Padres broke through in the third inning when Tatis led off the third with a solo shot to center field off Royals starter Randy Dobnak. It was the sixth homer for Tatis, his first in July that ended a six-game stretch without an extra-base hit.
The 31-year-old right-hander Dobnak had not gotten the nod in the Majors since Sept. 3, 2021 at Tampa Bay as a member of the Minnesota Twins. Having primarily pitched in Triple-A both this and his past two seasons, it was Dobnak’s third appearance with KC.
Kansas City was quick to get their two run edge back, as Canning walked Jensen on four pitches to lead off. He was punished by Jac Caglianone with one down, as the Royals right fielder went with an away changeup first pitch and hit it off the wall in left field for an RBI double.
In the fourth after San Diego couldn’t make anything out of a one-out double by France, the Royals chased Canning by cashing in a one-out walk by Michael Massey, as Isaac Collins was able to drive him in with a single to center field with two gone.
Canning lasted 3 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and four runs with four strikeouts and two walks to take his eighth loss. He gave way to Waldron, who saw Collins get cut down trying to steal second by Fermin.
Before his first at bat of the game in the second inning, Fermin was given a “Welcome back Freddy” graphic on the big screen and given a warm cheer from the Royals crowd. The Padres catcher played his first three and a half years in the Majors with Kansas City, appearing in 251 games.
Waldron went 2 1/3 innings, conceding a pair of hits and runs with two strikeouts. Ron Marinaccio pitched the seventh and gave up a hit with a K, then Jhony Brito got the eighth and was able to work around a lead-off double by Thomas with a strikeout.
For the series finale, Germán Márquez (4-2, 5.18 ERA) is slated to make his third start for the Padres since returning at the beginning of July. In his three three appearances for the month, Márquez got the decision in his first start on July 7 against Arizona, and in 12 innings of work has allowed 11 hits, six runs (five earned), with eight walks and nine strikeouts.
Kansas City will turn to second-year lefty Noah Cameron (5-7, 4.89 ERA), who has thrown at least 100 pitches in five of his last seven outings, and is coming off setting a career high with nine strikeouts while taking the loss in a seven-inning effort at Baltimore. First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. PT.