Good morning from Kansas City, Mo.,
A weekend that began with two losses and seemed to push the Padres to the brink of a lost season ended with laughter and loud music and the Padres having gained a game in the standings.
“It has been so serious here trying to piece this season together,” manager Craig Stammen said. “It’s nice to put some smiles out there and be on the other end of one of these games.”
You can read about the Padres’ 19-2 rout of the Royals in my game story (here).
The Padres had only ever scored that many runs in a game six times before in their nearly 57 seasons as a big-league franchise. They had won a game by more runs just once.
But gaudy totals aside, what they did yesterday is what they are supposed to do more often.
“Looking forward to more games like this,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said.
Yeah. Now, they need to keep it going.
Stammen immediately directed his comments to a “very important series in Atlanta.”
That is where the Padres are. They have not left themselves margin for error. There is no time for anything but revving it up again the next day.
Being inconsistent has been the only thing they have done consistently in 2026. Thus, their 49-50 record.
The first series coming out of the All-Star break offered a fine synopsis of their season and their situation.
Michael King grinded through five innings before a weary bullpen lost two leads, including a three-run advantage in the 10th inning, in a 7-6 loss Friday.
The Padres went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in Saturday’s 6-1 defeat.
Yesterday, they scored nine more runs than they had in any game this season. (To make it very much indicative of their season, not one of their season-high 19 hits came off the bat of Manny Machado.)
“Disappointing in that first game that we weren’t able to finish that one off,” Stammen said. “That one was disappointing. Yesterday they just flat-out beat us, and then today we flat-out beat them. This close to a series win, which is what our goal is anytime we play somebody.”
Yes, thisclose is another apt synopsis of the Padres’ season. So is this: two steps back, one step forward.
That is how the Padres’ weekend ended.
They began the three-game series here 3½ games behind the Marlins, who were swept by the Brewers. The Padres are now 2½ games behind the Marlins, Cardinals and Pirates.
Ty loves ‘The K’
Ty France is batting .458 (11-for-24) with three doubles and four home runs during a seven-game hitting streak. He has a .275 average and an .871 OPS on the season. Yesterday was his third two-homer game of 2026.
He has shown can hit anywhere.
But he hits better than anyone ever has at Kauffman Stadium.
His 1.380 OPS in 21 games (90 plate appearances) is the highest OPS by any player to ever have at least 55 plate appearances at the Royals’ 53-year-old ballpark.
“Honestly, I just see the ball well here,” France said. “I don’t know what specifically it is about this place, but I think it’s a great place to hit. … It’s a beautiful stadium. The backdrop is unbelievable.”
France homered in the final two of his six at-bats yesterday to finish 5-for-12 with three homers, two walks and a hit by pitch in the series.
In 42 career games (178 plate appearances) against the Royals, France has a 1.110 OPS. That is third highest all-time among players with at least 150 plate appearances against the Royals, behind the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez (1.191) and Hall of Famer Dick Allen (1.140).
Matsui gets it done
A relief pitcher was one of the heroes in a 17-run victory.
Left-hander Yuki Matsui was called on to replace starter Germán Márquez with the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth inning.
In what Stammen called “the biggest part of the game,” Matsui got a strikeout and a double-play grounder and then worked a scoreless fifth.
Stammen might be partial toward relievers, given he used to make a living as one. But the fourth inning certainly could have gone a different way.
Matsui has been markedly improved this season and has come through in some higher-leverage situations. But he is prone to the walk and the fly ball, and the ball carries at Kauffman Stadium.
Matsui had seen his ERA balloon from 1.53 to 2.73 in July. He had allowed five runs on five hits and seven walks in 3⅔ innings over five games this month.
But he came in throwing strikes yesterday. He threw 13 of them among his 19 pitches and was ahead 1-2 against all but one of the four batters he threw at least four pitches.
“Toward the end before the All-Star break, I struggled a little bit with strike percentage and getting ahead,” Matsui said through interpreter Ike Ogata. “I’ve been working on it. Two days ago in the bullpen, I didn’t get in the game, but felt really good, and I was able to perform with that same feeling.”
While yesterday was not technically a high-leverage appearance, it was more in line with the type of games Matsui has been asked to work in a season in which the Padres have been without Jason Adam and Jeremiah Estrada for significant stretches.
This was the fifth time this season Matsui has come into a game with the bases loaded. It was the third time he has done so with no outs. Five of the 15 runners he has inherited in bases-loaded situations have scored.
“Last season I wasn’t pitching in those situations, so I have to keep putting up zeros so the team can trust me to use me again in those situations,” he said. “… We have a lot of good pitchers in the bullpen. Since the Padres signed me, there have been high expectations, and pitching in these situations is what I’ve always wanted to do.”
Vásquez back, differently
The Padres continued to enhance their holistic pitching approach yesterday when they activated Randy Vásquez off the injured list and put him in the bullpen.
“Maybe he’s a weapon in this way out of the ‘pen — a shorter stint, and we can use him more often,” Stammen said. “We’re being creative with the pitching, as you can tell in how we’re taking starters out of the game, stuff like that. Just trying to piece it together and see if we can find a rhythm to it and something that’s going to strategically help us win some games.”
Vásquez came on to begin the sixth inning and spread three hits over three scoreless innings.
That he would take down at least nine outs was the expectation yesterday, as the Padres have essentially leaned into the general inability of their starters to go deep in games.
They planned for Márquez to go through the order twice, which he did. But up by five runs in the fourth, Stammen probably would have let him go beyond the 18 batters had he not run into trouble that was not entirely of his making.
The Royals loaded the bases on a single and two fielder’s choice grounders — one thrown wide of second base by Machado and another thrown late to second base by Xander Bogaerts.
“I think if we make those two plays in the infield right there, I think he finishes that inning,” Stammen said. “… If he gets out of that inning, then it was a decision for us to make.”
That is the type of decision that has been taken out of the hands of Stammen and pitching coach Ruben Niebla most games.
Padres starters have allowed the 18th most runs in the major leagues while averaging just 4.6 innings per start. That is not close to good. But their innings would likely not be as exceedingly awful if not for being paired with a Padres offense that has scored the second-fewest runs in the major leagues through the first five innings of games.
With close games thinning the margin for error, Stammen has most often gone to his bullpen earlier than he would like or than is optimal or even sustainable.
“We know that,” Stammen said. “So now we’re trying to supplement the bullpen with some more length.”
Kyle Hart and Matt Waldron, both capable of going three or more innings, were already in the bullpen. Now Vásquez, who has made 16 starts this season, joins them.
“I had my same plan as I always do when I go out — attack hitters as best as I can,” Vásquez said through interpreter Jorge Merlos. “… I put my little bit of grain of sand into this team, and I’ll be able to contribute as best as I can. I feel great coming out of the bullpen or as a starter — whatever the team needs from me, I’ll be able to do it.”
Vásquez had a 7.75 ERA over his previous eight games (33⅔ innings). Seven of those games were starts, and one outing came after Hart opened the Padres’ July 2 game at Dodger Stadium.
That is the night Vásquez was hit in the right ankle by a line drive and later fainted on his way to get X-Rays.
He was released from the hospital early in the morning on July 3, and the cause of his fainting was attributed to anxiety or stress after being injured. Still, the Padres showed an abundance of caution.
“They were really checking on me throughout the entire week and the entire process,” Vásquez said. “I even had something to monitor my heart. … They treated me really well and did a lot to get me ready to come back.”
Even more unique for Vásquez was the got his first major league at-bat.
After mass substitutions in the eighth inning included designated hitter Miguel Andujar replacing Machado at third base, Vásquez had to enter the lineup as a hitter.
Jake Cronenworth was still on the bench, but the Padres were up by 13 runs, so Vásquez walked to the plate and took a big hack at the first pitch he saw from infielder Tyler Tolbert — a 45 mph “fastball” that Vásquez hit on the ground toward third base before jogging to first base.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had that thought in my head,” Vásquez said of hitting. “But the opportunity came, so I went up there and tried my best.”
The last pitcher to have a plate appearance for the Padres was Reiss Knehr on Oct. 3, 2021.
Power stroke
Tatis homered for the second consecutive game, upping his season total to seven.
“Maybe,” Tatis said when asked if the past two days were a sign he has rediscovered his power stroke. “Looking forward to it. … We try to keep getting better, making a better approach, better adjustments at the plate. The swing has been better since the All-Star Break. I feel like we’re in the right spot right now.”
Sunday was Tatis’ 98th game of the season. He had not hit fewer than 16 home runs this far into any of the previous four seasons in which he played at least 98 games. (He hit 22 home runs in 84 games in 2019 and 17 homers in 59 games in 2020.)
Tatis also stole his 25th base of the season yesterday and drove in two runs with a single and another run with a fielder’s choice grounder.
He is tied for 16th in the National League with a .284 average, having hit .327 over his past 48 games (since May 24).
“What we’ve seen from Fernando over the last couple months is a very good baseball player, electric,” Stammen said. “We haven’t seen the home runs. That’s the one piece you’ve been waiting to see. But I kind of like the guy that hits .330 and steals a bunch of bases and every once in a while runs into a homer. That’s a pretty darn good player.”
Campusano keeps going
The Padres are keeping an eye on catcher Luis Campusano, and they are keeping Rodolfo Durán around on the taxi squad just in case.
But despite occasionally being in obvious discomfort, Campusano continues to fight through an abdominal issue.
“Good enough to play,” Campusano said after yesterday’s game. “You’ll never feel 100%, but I still feel like I can still help the team just being out there. That’s all I need. And I want to do that.”
He had felt discomfort toward the end of the Padres’ July 11 games and was scratched from the next day’s lineup,
Yesterday, he was slow to get up after diving back to first base on a throw over from Royals pitcher Noah Cameron in Sunday’s third inning. It was reminiscent of a moment Friday when he winced following a swing, which brought Stammen and head trainer Mark Rogow from the dugout.
Campusano remained in Friday’s game and played on until being replaced by pinch-hitter Sung-Mun Song in the eighth inning yesterday.
Campusano drove in a run with his single in the third, an inning after walking and coming around to score yesterday. He is 7-for-22 with seven walks in 10 games since returning from a two-month stay on the IL due to a fractured toe and is batting .297/.402/.554 in 28 games this season.
“Campy is good,” Stammen said. “We’ve got to manage him. He’s battling through some soreness. But I tell you what, he’s going out there and grinding. He’s giving everything he has. For a manager to have a player that’s willing to do that, put his body on the line to perform for the team and come through in big situations, it’s pretty impressive what he’s doing for us.”
Tidbits
Jackson Merrill was 4-for-6 with two home runs and a stolen base yesterday. He is one of five MLB players with at least 20 stolen bases and at least 12 home runs this season.
Merrill’s first four-hit day this season raised his batting average seven points (to .221). It was Merrill’s seventh game with at least three hits, which trails only Tatis (nine) among Padres players. Merrill’s 22 multi-hit games are also second to Tatis (29).
Machado’s sacrifice fly in the second inning made him the 160th player in MLB history with 1,200 career RBIs.
Machado walked twice yesterday and finished the series 0-for-9 with four walks. He began the series with a .203 batting average and is down to .198.
Luis Rengifo went 3-for-5 in his first start for the Padres. The veteran switch-hitter was signed to a minor-league deal last month and called up on July 8. He played second base yesterday.
Jase Bowen had his second multi-hit game and hit his second double of the season. He is batting .149 (7-for-47).
Wandy Peralta was activated off the Bereavement List and pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
With a single off Tolbert in the ninth inning, Gavin Sheets ended his career-high hitless streak at eight games. He had been 0-for-25 in the skid.
Estrada (right knee inflammation) is expected to start a rehab assignment this week.
Adam (right shoulder strain) was with the team in Kansas City, where he makes his offseason home. He will spend the next week at the team’s complex in Arizona.
Campusano lost an ABS challenge for the ninth time in his past 14 tries. He lost just eight of his first 27 challenges.
The Padres had a four-run inning, a five-run inning and a six-run inning yesterday. It was just the seventh game in franchise history a Padres team scored at least four runs in one inning and at least five in two others.
All right, that’s it for me. Early flight this morning and a game tonight in Atlanta.
Talk to you tomorrow.