With backs against the wall, Royals walked off Padres 7-6 at The K. Here’s how
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- Royals rallied for a 7-6 walk-off win over the Padres at Kauffman Stadium.
- Carter Jensen delivered a two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th.
- Lucas Ecreg earned the win as the Royals snapped their five-game losing streak.
The Kansas City Royals welcomed the San Diego Padres to Kauffman Stadium on Friday night in both teams’ return to action following Major League Baseball’s All-Star break.
It proved to be the perfect setting for the first walk-off heroics of Carter Jensen’s young major-league career.
The Park Hill High School product’s winning hit in the 10th inning drove in two, lifted the Royals to a 7-6 victory and capped a wild night of back-and-forth baseball.
“Just kind of battling,” Jensen said of the decisive at-bat — he was 3-for-6 with a pair of doubles Friday. “Knowing that less than two outs, runners on second and third, (it’s) just get one in to tie the game. And I was able to get two, so it was fun.”
The Padres were first to surge ahead in the extra inning — only one was required — when Miguel Andujar fueled a three-run 10th that made it 6-3.
The Royals didn’t surrender, though, scoring four runs in the bottom of the frame. Jensen’s clutch single was the exclamation point as KC improved to 40-59 and snapped a five-game losing streak.
“It’s a long season and even still, you know, we have a ton of games left,” Jensen said. “At the end of the day, it’s anybody’s game.
“So (we) just continue to take it a day at a time, one game at a time. Win each inning and see where we are at. You never know what can happen and so we’ll never throw in the white flag.”
Here’s how this roller-coaster of a game unfolded:
Seth Lugo pitches quality start
With rumors swirling ahead of the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline, the Royals sent right-handed starter Seth Lugo to the mound against his former team on Friday evening.
Lugo, who had a 4.56 ERA in 19 starts coming in, wasn’t particularly efficient. However, he did enough to produce a quality start at home.
In six innings, he allowed two runs (one earned) and four hits. He also registered three strikeouts while walking two batters.
The Royals’ defense helped him out. Right fielder Jac Caglianone made a leaping catch against the right-field wall in the first inning and Lane Thomas corralled a sinking line drive with a sliding catch in the sixth.
“My defense is there behind me,” Lugo said. “So attack the hitters and let them make plays. That’s always my game plan. If I keep it in the yard and let them make some plays, then I can really get into pitching.”
Lugo filled the strike zone, with 57 of his 90 pitches registering as strikes. He enjoyed some early run support, too. In the second inning, Thomas hit a 445-foot solo homer off Padres starter Michael King.
The blast was the eighth of the season for Thomas, a potential trade candidate as baseball’s hot stove simmers ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
“He’s getting regular at-bats, and you know, he has now for six weeks or so,” Quatraro said of Thomas. “And I think that’s helped him and I think he’s built his confidence.”
The Royals’ lead didn’t last long. In the fifth, Lugo put runners on second and third, and that drew in the Royals’ infielders. Padres catcher Luis Campusano countered with a line drive off the glove of Royals second baseman Michael Massey.
The baseball rolled into shallow center field and both runners scored.
“Teammates picked me up I got a chance there late to make up for it,” Massey said.
In the sixth, the Royals scored a run when Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts threw wildly to second base. The gaffe enabled Thomas — who led off with a single — to score his second run.
Both bullpens unravel late
The teams turned to their bullpens in the later innings.
In the eighth, Massey hit a go-ahead single, driving in first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. Massey hit a 100.2 mph fastball left over the plate by Padres lefty Adrian Morejon.
It seemed then that the Royals could be on the verge of winning, but Padres first baseman/noted Royals nemesis Ty France belted a two-out homer to tie it 3-3.
The Royals had a chance to win in the ninth, loading the bases against Padres closer Mason Miller. Isaac Collins got things started with a bloop single. Next, Jensen doubled into the right-field gap.
Miller, undeterred, intentionally walked Bobby Witt Jr. and then struck out Josh Rojas, Thomas and Pasquantino in succession.
Royals reliever Lucas Ecreg earned the win. San Diego dropped to 48-49.
“Go 1-0 every day,” Pasquantino said of the Royals’ mindset after winning in such thrilling fashion. “That’s about it. Try not to get too far ahead. ... You know, it’s obviously a good night to build off of, but we’ve got to get back at it tomorrow.”
What’s next: The Royals will start right-hander Randy Dobnak on Saturday afternoon. The Padres will counter with right-hander Griffin Canning (1-7, 6.47 ERA). First pitch is set for 3:10 p.m. Central Time at Kauffman Stadium.
This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 10:35 PM with the headline "With backs against the wall, Royals walked off Padres 7-6 at The K. Here’s how."
