France, Miller provide heroics in 9th, but Padres can't hold lead in extras

KANSAS CITY – Rested and refreshed, the Padres came out of the All-Star break feeling it was “go” time.

Ty France and Mason Miller, in particular, got the memo. In one of the most unlikely ninth innings the Padres could ever imagine, it was France and Miller who made it possible for San Diego to twice escape imminent defeat and then take a three-run lead in the 10th.

But all that good work late was ultimately trumped by Kansas City’s heroics.

Left-hander Kyle Hart was the victim of a series of soft-contact hits in the bottom of the 10th as the Royals scored four runs to hand San Diego a 7-6 defeat. Carter Jensen’s two-run single ended the game and left the Padres to ponder what might have been.

“That was a tough one,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “A lot of good in there. Just unfortunate how it shook out. The sun comes up tomorrow and we get to play baseball in the Major Leagues. In the end, this will hopefully make us tougher.”

The Royals had it. Then the Padres had it. And then the Royals got it back again.

Trailing 3-2, the Padres were down to their final out in the top of the ninth when France homered to left-center against Kansas City reliever Alex Lange. Then the Royals promptly roared back to load the bases against Miller with nobody out. That threat included a double by Jensen that snapped Miller’s 58-game streak without allowing an extra-base hit, the longest such streak since at least 1900.

But Miller, who threw just four pitches in Tuesday’s All-Star game, struck out Josh Rojas, Lane Thomas and Vinnie Pasquantino to keep the Royals from walking it off. Then Miguel Andujar ignited a three-run rally in the 10th with a go-ahead RBI double, and San Diego went on to add two insurance runs.

Still, it wasn’t enough.

The Royals used the free runner and soft hits by Salvador Perez, Michael Massey, Nick Loftin (a bunt) and Jensen to get the job done against Hart.

Based on matchups, Stammen made the decision to go with Hart in the 10th.

“It was kind of a tossup with a lot of them down there,” Sammens said. “We chose Kyle. Felt like the matchups were in his favor. A lot of weak contact that found holes. That’s how it goes sometimes.”

France said he was just trying to get on base when his ninth-inning homer off Lange got the craziness going in earnest.

“Just trying to keep the inning going and he left one over the middle,” France said. “Thankfully, they moved the fences in, right?”

Miller’s ability to wiggle out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the ninth was just the latest example of how dominant his arsenal can be.

“Nothing surprises me with that guy,” France said. “He’s very capable of doing that. Throwing 103 [mph] by guys. That’s what he does.”

Padres starter Michael King didn’t have his sharpest stuff, but battled through five innings while holding Kansas City to one run.

“We’ve seen that start from Michael quite a few times this year, which is a testament to how good of a pitcher he is,” Stammen said. “He doesn’t have his best stuff and is not completely in control of everything, but finds a way to go five or six innings with one run. He battled his tail off.”

The Padres fell below .500 at 48-49 and will try to make amends over the remainder of the weekend against a Royals club that snapped a five-game losing streak in that improbable 10th inning.

“There were times when we could have given in and ended the game,” Stammen said. “Hopefully, that’s a precursor to what the rest of our season looks like in showing the ability to bounce back like we did.”