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Royals Rout Padres 6-1; Thomas Homers, Perez Near Record

7/19/2026

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Summary

Thomas Sparks Victory

The Royals beat the Padres 6–1 on July 18, 2026, at Kauffman Stadium.
Lane Thomas (outfielder) hit a two-run, 421-foot homer in the first inning off Griffin Canning (starter).
Salvador Perez (catcher) hit his 315th homer in the sixth, two shy of George Brett’s franchise record of 317.
Randy Dobnak (pitcher) made his first start since May 2021, allowing one run on four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Summary

Royals Move Fences

The Royals moved left- and right-field fences 8–10 feet to make Kauffman more hitter-friendly.
The Padres entered the series at .500, making the matchup pivotal.
Griffin Canning (1-7, 6.47 ERA) starts Saturday; Kansas City’s starter is TBD.
Freddy Fermin was activated from the 10-day IL; Rodolfo Durán was optioned to Triple-A.
Michael King has allowed solo homers in nine of his last eleven runs, a noted weakness.

History

Historical Context

In the late 1990s Coors Field’s thin air helped the Colorado Rockies set a major single-season home-run record (303 homers in 1999), sparking league-wide concerns about ballpark dimensions. After studies led the Rockies to raise right-field fences by 8 ft 9 in in 2016, the Kansas City Royals shortened their own fences in 2026, hoping to balance offense and pitching.

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Thomas Sparks Victory

The Royals beat the Padres 6–1 on July 18, 2026, at Kauffman Stadium.
Lane Thomas (outfielder) hit a two-run, 421-foot homer in the first inning off Griffin Canning (starter).
Salvador Perez (catcher) hit his 315th homer in the sixth, two shy of George Brett’s franchise record of 317.
Randy Dobnak (pitcher) made his first start since May 2021, allowing one run on four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings.

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