Sean Manaea allows five runs in first, Josh Hader six runs in eighth; Padres also cost themselves a run and give away three
For whatever else was terribly troubling for the visitors on a muggy Midwest afternoon, that math was pretty much how a playoff contender lost to a team with three rookies in the starting lineup and a whole bunch of other young players and journeymen filling out the bulk of its roster.
Getting picked off at second base two pitches before a home run in the fifth inning and committing two errors that led to three unearned runs in the sixth inning is what made this among the ugliest losses of the season, regardless of the score.“That’s frustrating,” manager Bob Melvin said. “That can’t happen. It seems like we take a couple steps forward and then certainly today took a step back. The offense was there again, we’re scoring some runs.
After Machado’s solo home run off Royals starter Jonathan Heasley put the Padres up 1-0 in the top of the first, Royals leadoff batter Michael A. Taylor tied the game with a homer in the bottom of the inning. Those are issues Padres players and coaches will have to try to address. But what happened in Sunday’s final 7½ innings was what they would try to shake off as their flight soared over the half-dozen states from Missouri’s western edge to touchdown in San Francisco on Sunday night.
It was 6-2 when Luis Campusano, the young catcher playing in his first major league game in four months, lined a single to start the fifth inning. Campusano advanced with one out after Soto walked, but he ventured too far off second base and the Royals caught him with a throw from Heasley to Lopez. Two pitches later, Machado slammed a change-up three inches below his knees to the seats beyond left field to get the Padres within two.