Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City

The San Diego Padres ventured to Kauffman Stadium to begin a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals.

The All-Star Break is over, and with it begins the final stretch of the season. At .500, the Padres are at a decisive point in their season. In the past, the club has crawled back from .500 and become a team with a winning record. If there were any season to do it, this would be the one.

This past offseason, the Royals actually transitioned their stadium into a more hitter-friendly ballpark, moving their left and right field fences in by about eight to 10 feet. Theoretically speaking, it should be easier than ever to hit homers into the stands, more on that later.

On the mound for the Royals is former Padre Seth Lugo. As of recently, Lugo has struggled. Overall, though, he’s pretty solid for the Royals.  For the Padres, it was Michael King; he’s similarly struggled, but, at the moment, he’s the Padres’ best starting pitcher.

King allowed the first run of the game on a solo homer from Lane Thomas.

Nine of his last 11 runs allowed have been solo shots, an issue that persists for King, unfortunately. In that same breath, King is very good at making game-altering adjustments even with runners on base. Despite allowing the run that would be as far as the Royals could go against him, as far as the second inning was concerned, anyway.

Meanwhile, the Padres managed to scrounge together a few hits and walks against Lugo, but would not score until the 5th inning.

This was largely thanks to a base hit from Luis Campusano that allowed Ty France and Miguel Andujar to score, making the game 2-1.

Back at it. pic.twitter.com/82unmhn2w8

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 18, 2026

With Campy hitting again, the Padres’ catching situation has cleared up. Freddy Fermin is back on the active roster after finishing his stint on the IL, according to the Padres’ X account. Despite producing pretty solid results, Rodolfo Duran was sent back down to the minors.

We have reinstated C Freddy Fermin from the 10-day IL and optioned C Rodolfo Durán to Triple-A El Paso.

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 17, 2026

King, on the other hand, would not allow the solo homer to faze him, and despite getting some baserunners, he would keep his cool for the duration of his start. King would exit after going five innings of one-run ball, one of his cleanest starts this year.

Unfortunately, his efforts would be in vain as the royals would tie the game on a fielder’s choice, with everyone safe due to a throwing error from Xander Bogaerts. That said, reliever Bradgley Rodriguez still got out of the inning with minimal damage.

After a few silent innings, the Royals would come alive in the eighth to retake the lead. However, a solo homer from France in the ninth kept the Padres alive.

Mason Miller entered the ninth inning with the challenge of keeping the game at a standstill so the Padres could have a chance to regain the lead. Two base hits and an intentional walk later, the bases were loaded with nobody out.

An early strikeout on Issac Collins inspired some hope. Then Thomas, who homered earlier, also would fall to Miller’s fastball. Then finally, Vinnie Pasquintino would strike out swinging, getting the club out of the bases-loaded jam. That means extra baseball would follow.

With Jake Cronenworth as the automatic base runner, Andujar hit a drive to right that allowed him to score. On the night, Adujar went 3-4, an especially productive evening for the slugger. A bunt bid from Sung-mun Song spelled trouble as the Royals could not field an out at first or third. A Fernando Tatis Jr. single extended the Padres’ lead, and a sac-fly by Bogey brought the game to 6-3.

Kyle Hart immediately struggled against the Royals’ bats, allowing a run and loading the bases. Then, with a near-unending flurry of hits on Hart, the Royals walked off the Padres, ending the game 7-6.

On the night, Craig Stammen lamented the loss but reiterated there’s still more baseball left. “In the end, this will hopefully make us tougher,” said Stammen.

The Padres continue their away stand against the Royals into the weekend. On the mound for Saturday’s game for the Padres will be Griffin Canning (1-7, 6.47 ERA). The Royals’ starter is still to be determined.

Fabian Garcia