Padres Week in Review: Sunday Fun Day Salvages Lost Weekend

San Diego Padres Weekly Snapshot

Record last week: 1-2 (48-48)

Runs scored last week: 26

Runs allowed last week: 15 (season run differential: minus-32)

Scores

• Monday: All-Star break
• Tuesday: American League 4, National League 0
• Wednesday: All-Star break
• Thursday: All-Star break
• Game 97 (Friday): Royals 7, Padres 6 (10 innings)
• Game 98 (Saturday): Royals 6, Padres 1
• Game 99 (Sunday): Padres 19, Royals 2

Week in Review and Highlights

Royals series

Game 1: This looked like it could be an inspirational start to the biggest stretch of the season. It turned out to be a devastating loss. After putting themselves in position to win the opener of a 10-game road trip with three runs in the top of the 10th inning, the Padres watched the struggling Royals chip away in the bottom half and walk off with a 7-6 victory. The loss dropped the Friars below .500 at 48-49. The decisive hit was almost cruel, yet fitting. No. 2 catcher Carter Jensen, a left-handed hitter, hit a soft grounder past a drawn-in shortstop Xander Bogaerts that scored two runs. It was the fourth single of an inning that produced four runs.

This is also a game where the injuries that the Padres currently have in the bullpen contributed to the outcome. With right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez and left-hander Adrian Morejon (two innings) having covered three innings, right-handed closer Mason Miller came on for the bottom of the ninth to protect the tie that the Padres forged in the top half on Ty France's huge solo homer with two outs, his 12th of the year. Miller, the Padres' lone All-Star who faced just one batter in Tuesday's All-Star Game, got himself into trouble by yielding a bloop single to Isaac Collins and a double to Jensen, with Collins stopping at third. After an intentional walk to superstar Bobby Witt Jr., Miller did what he does best and struck out the next three batters to send the game into extra innings.

The Padres pounced on the opportunity. Miguel Andujar doubled in automatic runner Jake Cronenworth, pinch-hitter Sung-Mun Song reached on an error by Royals right-handed closer Lucas Erceg on a sacrifice bunt, Fernando Tatis Jr. singled home Andujar, moving Song to third, and Bogaerts hit a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3. But everything unraveled for left-hander Kyle Hart, forced into a high-leverage situation usually reserved for right-handers Jason Adam or Jeremiah Estrada, both of whom are hurt. Singles by Salvador Perez and Michael Massey scored the automatic runner, then a bunt single loaded the bases. The light-hitting Collins hit a chopper to second, with Cronenworth's only play at first but plating a run to make it 6-5. Jensen followed with his game-winner.

Game 2: The Padres could have and probably should have been angry coming into the second game against the Royals. Yet it certainly didn't manifest into much of anything positive. The Friars were stifled offensively and right-handed starter Griffin Canning was chased in the fourth inning of a 6-1 loss to the Royals, putting the Padres two games below .500 at 48-50. Canning made it just 3⅔ innings, surrendering four runs on five hits, including a Lane Thomas homer, with two walks and four strikeouts, dropping his record to 1-8. He was coming off three straight solid outings, but couldn't continue that momentum against the last-place Royals. Right-hander Matt Waldron followed Canning by allowing a pair of runs in 2⅓ innings.

There was a small bright spot for the Padres' offense as Tatis hit a solo home run in the third inning, his sixth of the season. France and Cronenworth each had two hits. Otherwise, that was it against journeyman right-hander Randy Dobnak and four relievers. It was a disappointing outcome for the second day in a row to begin a key road trip.

Game 3: Have you ever hosted a dinner party where the main course feel extremely flat, but your dessert flipped that mood? That is how the Padres' series finale against the Royals feels. The Friars salvaged a bad weekend in Kansas City by exploding for a 19-2 victory. Jackson Merrill and France each hit a pair of homers, with France crushing a grand slam, and Tatis went deep for a second game in a row. A laugher can change the attitude of a team, but momentum has been fickle for the Padres since April. Even with the final six runs coming off a position player, they nearly doubled their previous season high in runs (10) and eclipsed their most hits (14, done three times) with 19, while matching the most home runs in a game this year.

France had a season-high five RBIs and Tatis four, including a big two-run single in a four-run second, while Merrill went 4-for-6, Luis Rengifo added three hits and Song came off the bench to get a trio of hits. The good vibes were on the pitching side, too. While right-hander German Marquez had a short start, going three-plus innings and allowing two runs, left-hander Yuki Matsui escaped a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth with a strikeout and a double play, then had a perfect fifth. Right-hander Randy Vasquez, activated from the 15-day injured list before the game, made his first true relief appearance and went three shutout innings, while left-hander Wandy Peralta returned from the bereavement list with a scoreless ninth.

Now the Padres head to Atlanta, a team they swept three games from at Petco Park in late June, for four games against the NL East leader and their season still hanging by a thread. 

Marvelous Mason Miller

Some of the amazing stats for the Padres' closer:

• Season stats: 2-1, 0.89 ERA, 39 games, 25 saves (25 chances), 40⅔ IP, 20 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 14 BB, 75 K, .144 opponent average
• Faced just one batter in the All-Star Game, striking out Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami on four four-seamers. Those pitches were the four fastest in the game at 100.3, 101.9, 102.2 and 101.7 mph.
• Second Padres closer to be 25-for-25 in saves before the All-Star break, joining Trevor Hoffman in 1998. Miller is the seventh player in Padres history with 25 or more saves and the ninth time it has happened (Hoffman did it three times).
• The double given up to Carter Jensen on Friday was the first extra-base hit Miller has allowed in 255 plate appearances, ending his MLB-record streak at 58 games (61 innings).
• Has struck out two or more in an outing 26 times and three or more 13 times.

Random Stats

• The Padres had been the last team in MLB to get walked off this season, but have now suffered both of their walk-off losses in an eight-game road stretch with Friday's setback.
• Fernando Tatis Jr.'s second-inning single Sunday extended his on-base run to 18 of the last 19 road games. Three of his home runs have come in that stretch away from Petco Park.
• While Miguel Andujar went 0-for-4 Sunday, he entered the game with a .353/.371/.559 slash line in. his previous 12 games, including three three-hit games.
• Ty France has now hit in a season-best seven straight games, including four two-hit games. Of his 60 hits, 27 have been for extra bases.
• Sunday's 17-run margin of victory was the second-largest in Friars history, behind only the 21-0 triumph over the Colorado Rockies on May 10, 2025.

Transactions

• Tuesday: Sent RHP Randy Vasquez on a rehab assignment to ACL Padres.
• Wednesday: Placed LHP Wandy Peralta on the bereavement list.
• Wednesday: Recalled RHP Jhony Brito from Triple-A El Paso.
• Wednesday: Sent RHP David Morgan on a rehab assignment to ACL Padres.
• Wednesday: Signed free-agent RHP Jackson Vasquez to a minor-league contract.
• Friday: Activated C Freddy Fermin from the 10-day injured list.
• Friday: Optioned C Rodolfo Durán to Triple-A El Paso.
• Sunday: Activated RHP Randy Vásquez from the 15-day injured list.
• Sunday: Activated LHP Wandy Peralta from the bereavement list.
• Sunday: Designated RHP Ron Marinaccio for assignment.
• Sunday: Optioned RHP Jhony Brito to Triple-A El Paso.

Website Highlights

• Padres' rotation can't escape their fatal flaw in second half — Randy Holt
• Making sense of Buehler's confusing first half with Padres — Cory Sparks
• Padres system analysis: How industry experts rank the prospects — Steve Drumwright
• Padres system analysis: Prospect experts weigh in on Salas' future — Steve Drumwright
• Recapping Padres' draft class: Early savings give way to late-round swings — Steve Drumwright
• Padres set to open 2027 against Diamondbacks — Steve Drumwright

Looking Ahead

• Monday: Padres (JP Sears) at Atlanta (Bryce Elder), 4:15 p.m.
• Tuesday: Padres (Walker Buehler) at Atlanta (Reynaldo Lopez), 4:15 p.m.
• Wednesday: Padres (Michael King) at Atlanta (TBA), 4:15 p.m.
• Thursday: Padres (TBA) at Atlanta (Chris Sale), 9:15 a.m.
• Friday: Padres at Marlins, 4:10 p.m.
• Saturday: Padres at Marlins, 1:10 p.m.
• Sunday: Padres at Marlins, 10:40 a.m.