San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller threw 16 pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning. He opened the inning allowing a single to Isaac Collins and a double to Carter Jensen. Miller issued an intentional walk to Bobby Witt Jr. to load the bases with no outs for the Kansas City Royals. The All-Star reliever then recorded three consecutive strikeouts to end the Kansas City threat and the inning to send the game to extra-innings.
San Diego scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning to take what
looked to be a comfortable 6-3 lead. However, instead of Miller returning to the mound for the bottom of the 10th inning, Kyle Hart took the mound for the Padres. The left-hander was looking to secure the win and earn his first MLB save; however he allowed four runs to score on four singles and a groundout, and the Padres opened the second half of the season with a 7-6 extra-inning loss at Kaufman Stadium. It was a heartbreaking result for a team with its season on the line and could have a disastrous effect if San Diego cannot bounce back in the second game of the series today.
The Padres were on an emotional roller coaster throughout the final innings of the game. San Diego was trailing 3-2 with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. It appeared the game was all but over before Ty France hit a solo home run to tie the game at 3-3. After the Houdini act by Miller in the bottom of the ninth and the offense scoring three runs in the top of the 10th it appeared the Padres would push their win streak to three games, but that was not the case.
Michael King started the game on the mound for San Diego and he labored through five innings. He allowed just one run, which came on a solo home run by Lane Thomas, but he used 97 pitches to get through the outing. King limited Kansas City to four hits and issued two walks before turning the game over to the bullpen.
The Padres offense scored six runs with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Miguel Andujar each having three-hit games. Xander Bogaerts and France were the only other players in the San Diego lineup to record hits.
The Padres will try to get back to .500 with a win when they take on the Royals today at 1:10 p.m.
Padres News:
- A lot of questions surrounding the Padres will be answered over the next 16 games. Even more will be answered throughout the second half of the season. Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball gives readers some insight as to what they can expect to see from San Diego as play resumes following the All-Star break.
- Freddy Fermin was activated off the IL and with Luis Campusano back with the big-league club, Rodolfo Duran was sent back to the minors.
- The San Diego farm system benefits from the influx of players after the 2026 MLB Draft.
- Jim Bowden of The Athletic does not list the Padres as one of his six teams in position to sell at the trade deadline, but he adds they could become sellers depending on their start to the second half.
Baseball News:
- The Boston Red Sox extended their win streak to 11 games with doubleheader sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays.
- Shohei Ohtani is set to pitch Wednesday for the Los Angeles Dodgers following knee injection. The Dodgers opened the second half of the season with a win over the New York Yankees.
- The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Miami Marlins in 10 innings.
- Five-run second inning propels the Chicago White Sox to a win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
- The Washington Nationals thumped the Athletics, 23-4.
- The St. Louis Cardinals scored a run in the ninth to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks.
- San Francisco shuts out the Seattle Mariners to give Giants 7-0 win.
- Brady Singer throws seven innings to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Colorado Rockies.
