Four batters into the game, the Royals had all the runs they would need as they cruised to a 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres. That gives them a series victory and gives them a chance at a sweep in their first series since the All-Star Break.
Randy Dobnak got the spot start in this one. It was his first start in more than five years, since May of 2021. He wasn’t exactly dominant, walking 4 and striking out only 3 in 4.1 innings of work, but the only run he allowed was a Fernando Tatis Jr. homer in the top of the third. While he’s not someone I’d want to leave in the rotation were victories still of the utmost importance for this team, I really don’t hate the idea of leaving him in there when Stephen Kolek returns next week and moving Luinder Avila into the bullpen to try and close some games out.
For the second straight game, Lane Thomas hit a no-doubt home run in his first at-bat. This time, however, he did it in the first inning with a runner on after Carter Jensen led off the game with a single.
In the bottom of the third, after that Tatis dinger, the Royals answered when Carter Jensen got a lead-off walk. This time, it was Jac Caglianone’s turn to drive him in, smoking an opposite-field double to get the run back and extend his hitting streak to nine games.
The Royals got their fourth run in the bottom of the fourth when Isaac Collins drove home Michael Massey with a single to center. They got their final two runs when Salvador Perez pulled within two of George Brett’s franchise record by depositing one off the top of the second wall in center field following a Vinnie Pasquantino single.
The Padres had runners on all day, but the bullpen got key double plays when Steven Cruz relieved Dobnak in the fifth inning with runners at first and second with one out, when Daniel Lynch IV got in trouble in the sixth inning with runners at first and third with one out, and in the ninth when Eli Morgan was trying to finish off the game. Beck Way pitched a clean eighth with a pair of strikeouts in there, as well, further cementing his place in the hierarchy of the current iteration of the bullpen.
The Padres haven’t been as good as they had hoped they would be this year, though they’ve got nothing on how disappointing the Royals have been. Still, KC will have a chance to sweep the brown and gold tomorrow afternoon. Germán Márquez (5.18 ERA) will go up against Noah Cameron (4.89 ERA) at 1:10 p.m. Central.
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