Padres Continue Fading Ways With A 7-6, 10-Inning Loss in KC

The San Diego Padres badly need a series win against the Kansas City Royals this weekend, but they’ll have to do it the hard way after blowing a three-run lead in the tenth inning against the Royals to drop a 7-6 decision to start the second half of their season. 

This game was everything the Padres didn’t want it to be. The Padres had a favorable matchup with Michael King going against Seth Lugo, but somehow they wound up in a tight, low-scoring game as they managed just two runs off Lugo, one of them unearned, in his six innings. 

That gave the Padres a 2-1 lead, but a rare bullpen breakdown by Bradgley Rodgriguez and Adrian Morejon allowed the Royals to come back and take the lead with single runs in the sixth and eighth innings to make it 3-2 going into the ninth. 

Ty France tied the game with a solo homer, but craziness ensued in extras. The Padres plated three on an RBI double by Miguel Andujar, a single by Fernanado Tatis Jr. and a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3, but reliever Kyle Hart couldn’t get it done in the bottom of the tenth as the Royals rallied for the 7-6 win. 

Most of the hits came on what manager Craig Stammen called “soft contact,” but Stammen is starting to sound like a manager who’s becoming aware that his team doesn’t have what it take to get out of the hole they’ve dug. 

“That was a tough one,” Stammen said in an article written by Robert Falkoff of MLB.com. “A lot of good in there. Just unfortunate how it shook out. The sun comes up tomorrow and we get to play baseball in the major leagues. In the end, this will hopefully make us tougher.”

It may make the Padres tougher, but it’s not going to change the frustrations Stammen is obviously feeling about his choices when he gets past his top relievers. 

“It was kind of a tossup with a lot of them down there,” Sammens said as he talked about his decision to go with Hart. “We chose Kyle. Felt like the matchups were in his favor. A lot of weak contact that found holes. That’s how it goes sometimes.”

It’s getting easier by the week to envision big changes in San Diego. The Padres went into this weekend with a chance to reestablish themselves as wild-card contenders, but instead they’re doing the opposite. They’ll send Griffin Canning, who is currently 1-7, to the mound against a tbd starter for the Royals today to try and even up the series.