Salvador Perez swatted a two-run homer, Michael A. Taylor added a solo shot and drove in four runs, and the host Kansas City Royals survived a big day from Manny Machado to defeat the San Diego Padres 15-7 on Sunday.
Rookie right-hander Jonathan Heasley (2-7) picked up his first win since June 10 as the Royals averted a three-game sweep. The Padres saw their lead for the NL’s third wild-card berth shrink to 1 1/2 games over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Perez’s homer, his 18th, highlighted a three-run sixth inning against Padres reliever Nabil Crismatt that extended the Kansas City lead to 9-4.
The insurance runs came after Manny Machado’s second bomb of the game, a two-run shot and his 24th of the season, pulled the Padres to within 6-4 in the fifth. Machado went 4-for-5, adding a single and double to his homers.
The cushion came in handy right away when Juan Soto hit a two-run homer off Anthony Misiewicz in the seventh to tighten the score to 9-6. It was also his 24th, and his third in 20 games with the Padres.
Lefty Josh Hader, who lost his job as the Padres’ closer about a week ago, gave up six runs in the eighth on five hits and two walks and got only one out before he was pulled in favor of outfielder Wil Myers, who got the final two outs. Nick Pratto doubled home two runs in the inning, and Taylor singled in two more.
Machado began the scoring with a solo shot off Heasley in the first inning.
The Royals, however, responded with five runs on seven hits in the bottom of the first off left-hander Sean Manaea (7-7). It started with Taylor’s solo home run. Brent Rooker, Pratto, Drew Waters and Nicky Lopez added RBIs.
Machado added an RBI in the third on an unearned run. Kansas City tacked on a run in the fourth on Taylor’s soft single to left to make it 6-2.
Manaea went four innings, allowing six runs on 10 hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
Luis Campusano singled to lead off the San Diego fifth. After an out and a walk, Heasley picked Campusano off second, a play that loomed large at the time when Machado walloped his second homer.
Heasley worked five innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.
Hunter Dozier had four hits and three runs for the Royals. Perez and Taylor had three hits apiece among the team’s 18. The Padres finished with 10 hits in the four-hour game.
–Field Level Media