Jackson Merrill, Ty France and Fernando Tatis Jr. combined for five home runs and 13 RBIs as the visiting San Diego Padres rolled to a 19-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.
Merrill went 4-for-6 with two homers and four RBIs, while Tatis homered once, drove in four and scored three. Both of France’s hits were home runs, a grand slam in the eighth inning and a solo shot in the ninth for five RBIs.
Royals position player Tyler Tolbert took the mound and allowed six runs in the ninth, including homers by Merrill and France.
Winning for just the sixth time in 24 road contests, the Padres recorded 19 hits to avoid being swept in this three-game series.
Jac Caglianone homered and doubled for Kansas City, which had won four straight at home. The Royals’ Noah Cameron (5-8) allowed seven runs, nine hits and two walks over five innings.
Caglianone opened the scoring by sending German Marquez’s knuckle curve well over the right field wall in the first inning.
The Padres, though, broke out in the second. Luis Rengifo and Jase Bowen posted back-to-back infield singles with one out, and Luis Campusano walked. Tatis followed with a two-run single and stole second. Merrill delivered an RBI single to right, and Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly made it 4-1.
The Padres added on in the third when Xander Bogaerts opened with a double and eventually scored on Bowen’s two-out double to left. Campusano followed with an RBI single for a 6-1 San Diego advantage.
In the bottom of the third, Caglianone doubled and scored on Collins’ two-base hit over the head of Bowen in left. However, Merrill drove a Cameron pitch over the left field wall for San Diego to regain its five-run cushion in the fourth.
Marquez was chased with nobody out in the bottom of the fourth after he loaded the bases via a single, a throwing error by Machado and a failed force attempt at second base. But Yuki Matsui (1-1) struck out Carter Jensen and got Nick Loftin to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play.
Marquez allowed two runs, five hits and two walks on the day.
Tatis’ solo shot over the left field wall came off Matt Strahm in the sixth.
Everyone was safe on Tatis’ run-scoring fielder’s choice in the eighth as Tolbert made a fielding error at shortstop. After Machado walked to load the bases, Lucas Erceg relieved Beck Way for Kansas City and France greeted him with a grand slam to left for a 13-2 lead.
