SAN DIEGO _ Eric Hosmer loves San Diego. He loves the weather, of course, because everybody loves the weather. He also loves the memories. The night he launched himself into baseball lore with a Most Valuable Player performance in the 2016 All-Star Game. The night he competed for Team USA here in the World Baseball Classic.
Saturday afternoon at Petco Field will not compete with those moments. Yet he may remember this game, too, the day he hammered a game-tying, two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning, opening the floodgates in a 12-6 victory over the San Diego Padres
The Royals struck for nine runs in the inning, their most in 11 years, the sequence capped by the second career grand slam from Lorenzo Cain. In the end, Cain finished 3 for 5 with two homers and five RBIs. Salvador Perez went back-to-back with Hosmer, recording his 100th career homer and evoking images from last year's All-Star Game. Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar also added his first home run of the year, a solo shot that tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the fifth.
The five homers represented the most by the Royals since they hit five against the Minnesota Twins on July 23rd, 2003. The club record is six.
For moments Saturday, it appeared as if the Royals might lose to the lowly Padres for the second straight day. They trailed 4-1 after five innings and 5-3 after Royals reliever Mike Minor was pinched for a run in the seventh. The day ended with an offensive slugfest.
On Opening Day, the San Diego Padres' payroll topped out at close to $68.5 million, including $31.5 million earmarked for players no longer on the roster. The number is at once a reminder of a wholesale rebuilding process occurring here and a measure for the talent remaining on the roster.
Which is to say the Padres did not expect to compete this season. They understood their plight. They opted for a complete teardown, a demolition before a new foundation.
This is the opponent the Royals are facing here this weekend at Petco Park. This is the Padres team that surfaced in the late innings on Saturday.
After tying the series at a game apiece, the Royals and Padres will conclude the three-game set at 3:40 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Rookie Jakob Junis will start for the Royals opposite Dinelson Lamet. The Royals will then have a day off Monday before opening a two-game set at the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.
