Despite late game heroics from Ty France, and Miguel Andujar starting a three-run 10th, Kyle Hart couldn’t hold on as the San Diego Padres dropped a gutting 7-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
San Diego (48-49) dropped in extra innings for just the second time in six games. Kansas City (39-59) picked up their fourth walk-off win on the strength of their biggest offensive output in an extra inning of the season.
The Padres had piled it on in the tenth, as Andujar led off by trading places with Jake Cronenworth for an RBI double. Sung-Mun Song was called upon as a pinch hitter and dropped down a sacrifice bunt that reliever Lucas Erceg bobbled and allowed Song to reach on the error. Fernando Tatis Jr. then lined an RBI single to right and Xander Bogaerts hit a deep sacrifice fly.
But reliever Kyle Hart couldn’t make it stand up, as the first three batters he faced reached on singles. Salvador Perez hit a liner to left, Michael Massey hit an RBI grounder that found outfield grass that Cronenworth fielded but had no play, and Nick Loftin’s bunt loaded the bases. An Isaac Collins RBI ground out set the table for Carter Jensen’s game-winning two-RBI single.
France helped enable extra innings by hitting a two-out, 0-1 home run off reliever Alex Lange that tied the game 3-3. It was his 11th of the year and second in the past three games, a stretch over which he’s had a least an RBI in the sixth inning or later
Reliever Mason Miller was called upon in the ninth inning, but the first two batters reached when Collins hit a bloop down the left field line, then Jensen doubled off the wall in right field. There would be no showdown between All-Stars, as Bobby Witt Jr. was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Then Miller bore down, getting three consecutive whiffs to send the game to extra innings. First it was Josh Rojas unable to catch up to an elevated 102.1 MPH elevated fastball, then Lane Thomas got blown away by a 103.4 MPH heater, and Vinny Pasquantino went fishing and missed at a slider in the dirt.
After going through the seventh in order, reliever Adrian Morejon allowed a lead off single in the eighth to Jac Caglianone, who was pinch run for by Tyler Tolbert. Tolbert then stole second and advanced to third on a ground out. But a short comebacker to the pitcher by Pasquantino got Tolbert hung up halfway home, and tagged him out at home.
But the Royals kept at it, with Pasquantino stealing second and an intentional walk to Perez. Morejon got ahead 0-2 on Massey, but his middle-middle 100 MPH heater got slapped into center field, plating the go ahead run.
After falling behind early, the Padres put their first pair of runs on the board in the fifth inning thanks to timely hitting and good fortune. After France led the inning off getting hit by a pitch from Kansas City starter Seth Lugo, Andujar hit a one-out double to left to put both runners in scoring position.
Andujar would finish the game with three doubles, matching his season high set in San Diego’s win against Arizona on July 8.
Then, with the infield in, Luis Campusano hit a bouncer back up the middle that second baseman Massey had tip off his glove into center field for an error that allowed both France and Andujar to score. Tatis kept the pressure on with a single to follow up, but Jackson Merrill bounced into an inning-ending double play that had San Diego settle for a 2-1 lead.
But it was short-lived, as with reliever Bradgley Rodriguez in for Michael King for the sixth, the first two Royals reached. Thomas led off with a single and Pasquantino walked, then Perez hit a bounding ball to Bogaerts, who threw wide of the bag at second in trying to start a double play that allowed Thomas to score.
Rodriguez was able to get out of the inning thanks to a strike out, then Bogaerts made good on turning a double play on a grounder off the bat of Loftin to keep the score tied.
King had his streak of five consecutive starts without allowing a home run come to a close to lead off the second, as his first pitch sinker stayed right over the heart of the plate and Thomas hit his eighth long ball of the year. Pasquantino followed up by hitting one off the wall in right, but Tatis came up firing and, after a review challenge, threw him out at second for his third outfield assist.
The home run was the only damage in the inning though, as King was able to battle back after plunking Perez and allowing a hit by Massey. A fly out and then a backwards K, King’s first strikeout of the game, ended the first RISP situation by the Royals.
King finished with five innings pitched, allowing one run and four hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts.
On Wednesday, the Padres recalled Jhony Brito from Triple-A El Paso after placing Wandy Peralta on the Bereavement List.
For the second game of the series, San Diego will turn to Griffin Canning (1-7, 6.47 ERA), who has allowed two or fewer earned runs in his last three appearances despite taking a pair of losses. The Royals have yet to determine their starter, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m. PT.
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