The San Diego Padres won two games in a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals came into the game with a record of 51-75, and they have been one of the worst teams in baseball. The Padres were able to take advantage of facing one of the worst teams in the MLB by winning this series.
In the first game of the series, the Padres offense was on fire. The Padres scored 13 runs on 19 hits and four walks. Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim set a new career-high in RBIs with five in one game. His previous career-high was four RBIs, which he accomplished in the recent Marlins series. Other offensive contributors included right fielder Wil Myers, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, and second baseman Jake Cronenworth, who went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
Starting pitcher Joe Musgrove had a short outing in this game, especially when compared to most of his previous outings this season. He pitched in three â…” innings, giving up five runs on eight hits, with only two of the runs being earned. He also had two strikeouts and gave up a walk. Although Musgrove struggled for the most part, the bullpen did a great job in relief. The Padres won this game with a score of 13-5.
The second game of the series was much closer than the previous game, but the Padres fortunately had the same result in this one. The pitching was much better in this game with Yu Darvish starting the game for the Padres. He struggled in the first inning, giving up three runs. However, Darvish bounced back and pitched six scoreless innings afterwards. He finished with seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits. He also had six strikeouts and gave up two walks.
The Padres’ offense did not have the same success as the previous game, but there were still a couple of contributors. Myers had another solid game at the plate, hitting a two-run home run in the second inning. Third baseman Manny Machado also hit well, as he went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Relief pitcher Nick Martinez was able to close the game for the Padres with a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning. The Padres won this game with a score of 4-3.
The third and final game of the series was a hard crash for the Padres. After winning the first two games of the series and locking up a series victory, the Padres were unable to win the last game and complete the series sweep. The pitching was not good for the Padres, as two different pitchers each gave up six runs.
Sean Manaea started for the Padres and only pitched in four innings. In those innings, he gave up six runs on 10 hits. Relief pitcher Josh Hader, who was recently demoted from his closer role, pitched in the eighth inning and gave up six runs on five hits and two walks. He was only able to get one out in the inning before being replaced. The Padres ended up losing this game with a score of 15-7.
The Padres now have a record of 70-59. The team is still in the third wild card spot in the National League. The Milwaukee Brewers have won two games in a row, cutting the Padres’ lead to 1.5 games for the third NL Wild Card spot.
The Padres will head to San Francisco to face the division-rival Giants.