After a heartbreaking loss on Friday night, the Padres came back to Kauffman Stadium hoping to rebound and right the ship.

However, the only Padre highlights would be a Fernando Tatis Jr. home run and a lovely gesture by Royal fans welcoming back Freddy Fermin.

The Padres lost in very familiar fashion to the Royals 6-1.

San Diego could not score runs despite having numerous opportunities all game long. With men on first and second in the first inning, Gavin Sheets flew out to right field. Cronenworth was on third base with two outs the next inning, only for Freddy Fermin to line out to second. Ty France hit a double in the fourth, but back-to-back outs by Cronenworth and Andujar stranded the Aztec. In between this, however, the Padres did get a home run on a Fernando Tatis Jr. blast in the third.

Fernando Tatis Jr. connects for a home run 💪 pic.twitter.com/RScnDm88CN

— MLB (@MLB) July 18, 2026

Worst of all was the fifth when the Padres loaded the bases and chased starter Randy Dobnak from the game, only for Manny Machado to hit the second pitch into an inning-ending double play. The team ended 1-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 7 men on base by the 7th inning.

In a year filled with offensive ineptitude, the Padres continued to show an inability to hit in key moments despite coming off a six-run loss with numerous timely hits. After the sixth, the Padres would not get another hit for the remainder of the game, and their only baserunner would come in the 9th on a Ty France walk.

Griffin Canning would yet again turn in a poor pitching performance, failing to make it out of the fourth inning. The Royals hit him hard all game long; he gave up a two-run homer to Lane Thomas in the first inning, an RBI double to Jac Caglianone in the third, and an RBI single to Isaac Collins in the 4th, the last one being his final batter before being replaced. Canning’s line was 3.2 innings with five hits, four runs, four strikeouts, and two walks.

He was replaced by Matt Waldron, who pitched a solid 2.1 innings despite giving up atwo-runn homer to Salvador Perez in the 6th. Ron Marinaccio and Jhonny Brito pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th, respectively, despite allowing a runner on third in each inning.

The Padres will try to avoid a sweep in their first series post-All-Star Break tomorrow when German Marquez will take on Noah Cameron at 11:10 am PST.

Loren Casuto

A Native San Diegan, Loren has spent his entire life not only as a fan but an active participant in San Diego’s sports world. In 2006 Loren joined two other die hard Charger fans to create Bolttalk, where Loren was a co-host and regular columnist from 2006 until the Chargers left in 2017. After that he started another podcast, The Grid Podshow, from 2020-2021 with his former co-host and colleague, speaking about the local sports community and popular culture.

When he’s not giving his opinion about San Diego sports, Loren is an adjunct professor at San Diego State and an attorney.