Salvador Perez and Lane Thomas hit 2-run HRs, Royals beat Padres 6-1

By: Cody Friesen, The Associated Press Posted: 6:36 PM CDT Saturday, Jul. 18, 2026

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez and Lane Thomas homered to help the Kansas City Royals beat the San Diego Padres 6-1 on Saturday.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez and Lane Thomas homered to help the Kansas City Royals beat the San Diego Padres 6-1 on Saturday.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez and Lane Thomas homered to help the Kansas City Royals beat the San Diego Padres 6-1 on Saturday.

Thomas hit a 421-foot two-run home run to left field off Griffin Canning in the first and Perez added a two-run shot, his 12th this season, to center field that capped the scoring in the sixth.

Perez, a 36-year-old catcher, has 315 career home runs, two shy of the franchise record held by Hall of Famer George Brett.

Kansas City Royals' Isaac Collins celebrates with teammates after their baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Jac Caglianone’s run-scoring double in the third extended his hit streak to nine games. Isaac Collins added an RBI single in the fourth and Vinnie Pasquantino singled to extend an on-base streak to 14 games.

Randy Dobnak allowed one run and four hits in 4 1/3 innings for the Royals. Daniel Lynch IV (3-2) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win.

Canning (1-8) allowed four runs and five hits with four strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a solo shot to left field in the third, walked twice and had a stolen base. Tatis has reached safely in 33 of his last 36 games.

Ty France and Jake Cronenworth each had two hits.

San Diego had six hits, went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and hit into three double plays.

The Royals clinched their 10th series win of the season. Kansas City won a series against the Padres for the first time since 2023 and took a set from San Diego at Kauffman Stadium for the first time since 2002.

Up next

Padres RHP Germán Márquez (4-2, 5.18 ERA) starts Sunday in the series finale opposite LHP Noah Cameron (5-7, 4.89).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb