Royals Erase Three-Run Tenth-Inning Deficit for Walk-Off Win
KC def. SD · July 17, 2026 · Final: Royals 7, Padres 6
Kansas City trailed 6-3 heading into the bottom of the 10th, a hole that had the Royals' win probability down to 8.4%. What the Padres built in extra innings, Kansas City answered — one swing at a time.
The Royals had led early. Royals center fielder Lane Thomas put Kansas City in front in the bottom of the second with a solo home run to left center, making it 1-0. San Diego answered in the top of the fifth, when a fielder's choice off the bat of Padres catcher Luis Campusano — helped along by a fielding error from Royals second baseman Michael Massey — scored two and put the Padres ahead 2-1.
Kansas City pulled even in the bottom of the sixth when Thomas scored on a fielder's choice by Royals catcher Salvador Perez, tying it 2-2. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Massey lined a single to center that scored Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and gave Kansas City a 3-2 lead heading to the ninth.
Padres first baseman Ty France answered with a solo home run to left center in the top of the ninth, knotting it at three. Then San Diego's top of the 10th unraveled Kansas City's lead entirely — a Padres double, a single from Fernando Tatis Jr., and a sacrifice fly from Xander Bogaerts pushed the score to 6-3.
Down three in the bottom of the 10th, the Royals started chipping. Massey's ground-ball single scored Pasquantino to make it 6-4. Royals left fielder Isaac Collins grounded into a fielder's choice that brought home Perez, cutting it to 6-5.
That set up Royals catcher Carter Jensen. Jensen lined a single to left, scoring Massey and Nick Loftin, and Kansas City had its seventh run — and the lead it would keep. Final: Kansas City 7, San Diego 6.
The Comeback
- Largest deficit
- 3 runs — in the top of the 10th
- Win-probability nadir
- 8.4% (down 2 in the top of the 10th)
- Lead flipped for good
- bottom of the 10th
- Lead changes
- 4
- Final
- KC 7, SD 6 — won by 1, walk-off
Scoring Summary
| Inn. | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| B2 | Lane Thomas homers (8) on a fly ball to left center field. | 0-1 |
| T5 | Luis Campusano reaches on a fielder's choice, fielded by second baseman Michael Massey. Ty France scores. Miguel Andujar scores. Fielding error by second baseman Michael Massey. | 2-1 |
| B6 | Salvador Perez reaches on a fielder's choice. Lane Thomas scores. Vinnie Pasquantino to 3rd. Throwing error by shortstop Xander Bogaerts. | 2-2 |
| B8 | Michael Massey singles on a sharp line drive to center fielder Jackson Merrill. Vinnie Pasquantino scores. Salvador Perez to 3rd. Michael Massey to 2nd. Michael Massey advances to 2nd, on a throwing error by center fielder Jackson Merrill. | 2-3 |
| T9 | Ty France homers (12) on a fly ball to left center field. | 3-3 |
| T10 | Miguel Andujar doubles (20) on a ground ball to right fielder Nick Loftin. Jake Cronenworth scores. | 4-3 |
| T10 | Fernando Tatis Jr. singles on a line drive to right fielder Nick Loftin. Miguel Andujar scores. Sung-Mun Song to 3rd. | 5-3 |
| T10 | Xander Bogaerts out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Lane Thomas. Sung-Mun Song scores. Fernando Tatis Jr. to 3rd. | 6-3 |
| B10 | Michael Massey singles on a ground ball to second baseman Jake Cronenworth. Vinnie Pasquantino scores. Salvador Perez to 2nd. | 6-4 |
| B10 | Isaac Collins grounds out, second baseman Jake Cronenworth to first baseman Ty France. Salvador Perez scores. Michael Massey to 3rd. Nick Loftin to 2nd. | 6-5 |
| B10 | Carter Jensen singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jase Bowen. Michael Massey scores. Nick Loftin scores. | 6-7 |
Box score
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Line score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| KC | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 2 |
KCWinning team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter JensenC | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .242 |
| Bobby Witt Jr.SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .283 |
| Josh Rojas3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 |
| Lane ThomasCF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .238 |
| Vinnie Pasquantino1B | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .223 |
| Salvador PerezDH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .210 |
| Michael Massey2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .267 |
| Nick LoftinRF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .244 |
| Isaac CollinsLF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .239 |
| Jac CaglianoneRF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .260 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seth Lugo | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 90 |
| Steven Cruz | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| John Schreiber | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Alex Lange | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Lucas Erceg | 1.0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
SDLosing team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Tatis Jr.RF | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .281 |
| Jackson MerrillCF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .216 |
| Xander BogaertsSS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .224 |
| Manny Machado3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .201 |
| Ty France1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .268 |
| Jake Cronenworth2B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .190 |
| Miguel AndujarDH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .268 |
| Gavin SheetsLF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .218 |
| Luis CampusanoC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .292 |
| Sung-Mun SongPH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .212 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael King | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 97 |
| Bradgley Rodriguez | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| Adrian Morejon | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| Mason Miller | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 16 |
| Kyle Hart | 0.1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 |