San Diego, CA

Kansas City Royals vs San Diego Padres Prediction 6-2-24 Picks | Sports Chat Place

Published

2 years ago

June 2, 2024

Kansas City Royals vs San Diego Padres Prediction 6-2-24 Picks | Sports Chat Place

San Diego Padres (32-29) vs. Kansas City Royals (35-25)
June 2, 2024 2:10 pm EDT
The Line: Kansas City Royals -125 / San Diego Padres +106; Over/Under: +8.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The San Diego Padres and the Kansas City Royals meet Sunday in MLB action from Kauffman Stadium. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Kansas City Royals vs San Diego Padres Prediction.

Starting Pitching Matchup

The San Diego Padres will send out Michael King for the start here and King is 4-4 with a 4.09 ERA and 74 strikeouts this season. In his career, King is 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA and 6 strikeouts against the Royals. Cole Ragans will start for the Royals here and is 4-4 with a 3.36 ERA and 83 strikeouts this season. This will be Ragans’ first career start against the Padres.

San Diego Padres Recap

The San Diego Padres come into this one looking to complete the sweep after a 7-3 win over the Royals on Saturday, picking up back-to-back series wins after a series win over the Marlins to start the week.

Padres Starting To Pick It Up Offensively

Jurickson Profar leads the Padres with 67 hits along with a .325 batting average and 10 doubles with 8 homers and 38 RBIs. Jake Cronenworth has 38 RBIs while Fernando Tatis Jr. has belted a team-high 10 home runs this season. Manny Machado has 5 home runs and 29 RBIs but also has 52 strikeouts while Ha-Seong Kim has 45 hits with 3 triples, 6 doubles, 7 home runs, 27 RBIs and a team-high 13 stolen bases. Tatis Jr. also has a team-high 55 strikeouts and 6 stolen bases as well this season.

Why the San Diego Padres will win

The Padres have won each of their last eight road games against American League opponents.
The Royals have lost three of their last four games as favorites against NL West opponents.
The Padres have covered the run line in 12 of their last 13 road games against teams that held a winning record.
The Royals have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight home games against National League opponents.

Kansas City Royals Recap

The Kansas City Royals come into this one looking to salvage something from this series despite having already taken the L in the series after Saturday’s loss which stings for the Royals after a series loss to the Twins earlier in the week.

Royals Having Inconsistencies With Results

Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 75 hits including 9 home runs, 42 RBIs and team-highs of 6 triples and 16 doubles with 17 stolen bases. Salvador Perez also has a team-high 10 home runs with 41 RBIs and 14 doubles. Nelson Velazquez also has a team-high 54 strikeouts while Maikel Garcia has 5 home runs, 35 RBIs and 13 stolen bases along with 3 triples and 12 doubles this season. Vinnie Pasquantino has 15 doubles with 7 homers and 39 RBIs of his own on the year.

Why the Kansas City Royals will win

The Royals have won seven of their last nine games at Kauffman Stadium.
The Padres have lost 13 of their last 17 day games against AL Central opponents.
The Padres have failed to cover the run line in 16 of their last 17 day games against AL Central opponents.
The Royals have covered the run line in six of their last seven games as home favorites.
The Royals have led after 3 innings in each of their last six home day games.

Kansas City Royals vs San Diego Padres Prediction

I’m on the Royals here. I really like what I’ve seen from Cole Ragans in a lot of his recent outings, and Ragans is a pitcher viewed by many to be the staff ace of this Kansas City rotation. Michael King has been wildly inconsistent for the Padres, and it’s not lost on me that the Royals are still one of the best home teams in baseball this season. I’ll side with Kansas City at home here.

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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Miguel Andujar

Published

11 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Padres roster review: Miguel Andujar – San Diego Union-Tribune

MIGUEL ANDUJAR

Position(s): Third base, left field, first base
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2026 opening day age: 31
Height / Weight: 6-foot / 211 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in February 2026
Contract status: Will make $1.5 million in 2026, with the opportunity to earn another $2 million-plus in performance bonuses; his $4 million guarantee includes a $2.5 million buyout against an $8 million mutual option for 2027.
fWAR in 2025: 1.1
Key 2025 stats: .318 AVG, .352 OBP, .470 SLG, 10 HRs, 44 RBIs, 36 runs, 17 walks, 49 strikeouts, 1 steal (94 games, 341 plate appearances)

STAT TO NOTE

.986 — Andujar’s OPS against left-handed pitching in 2025, the second-highest mark of his career and well above his career .807 OPS against southpaws. Andujar had been below .600 in 2021 and 2022 before jumping to .871 in 2023 and a career-high .995 in 2024.

Up — Signed for $700,000 out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old in the international amateur market, Andujar needed two years to get out of the Yankees’ rookie-ball affiliate in the Gulf Coast League and finally cracked top-100 lists ahead of the 2018 season — No. 59 at Baseball America and No. 65 at MLB.com — after reaching Triple-A following a 16-homer season (.850 OPS). Andujar even made his MLB debut as a 22-year-old in 2017 and looked like he’d be a big part of the Yankees’ future after pairing 27 homers and 92 RBIs with an .855 OPS in finishing second to Shohei Ohtani in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018. But a right shoulder labrum tear derailed Andujar in 2019 and Andujar was never able to grab a starting job again in New York. The Pirates claimed him late in 2022 and then the Athletics claimed him after the 2023 season. By then, he’d developed into a platoon player with defensive limitations. Andujar had a .697 OPS in 75 games in his first year with the Athletics and a .765 OPS in 60 games last year when, after missing time with a right oblique strain, he was shipped to the Reds for a minor league pitcher. Andujar went on to hit .359/.400/.544 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 34 games to help the Reds lock up a wild-card spot. He was 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout in the NL Wild Card Series sweep at the hands of the Dodgers.

Miguel Andujar #41 of the San Diego Padres participates in drills during spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 in Peoria, Ariz.(Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

2026 OUTLOOK

The need for right-handed balance in the lineup was painfully obvious in the Padres’ NL Wild Card Series loss to the Cubs, so Andujar became a target after 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn walked as a free agent. Expect Andujar to get at-bats against lefties as either a DH, first base, third base or left field — the spots he’s been playing in spring training.

ROSTER RANKINGS

1. OF Fernando Tatis Jr.
2. 3B Manny Machado
3. OF Jackson Merrill
4. RHP Nick Pivetta
5. RHP Michael King
6. RHP Mason Miller
7. OF Ramón Laureano
8. SS Xander Bogaerts
9. LHP Adrián Morejón
10. RHP Jeremiah Estrada
11. RHP Jason Adam
12. 2B Jake Cronenworth
13. RHP Joe Musgrove
14. RHP Randy Vásquez
15. INF Miguel Andujar
16. OF Gavin Sheets
17. LHP JP Sears
18. RHP Yu Darvish
19. RHP Bradgley Rodriguez
20. RHP David Morgan
21. C Freddy Fermin
22. LHP Wandy Peralta
23. C Luis Campusano
24. LHP Yuki Matsui
25. INF Sung-Mun Song
26. RHP German Marquez
27. RHP Matt Waldron
28. OF Bryce Johnson
29. OF/1B Nick Castellanos
30. RHP Ron Marinaccio
31. RHP Bryan Hoeing
32. LHP Kyle Hart
33. INF Will Wagner
34. RHP Garrett Hawkins
35. RHP Miguel Mendez
36. RHP Daison Acosta
37. RHP Ty Adcock
38. RHP Alek Jacob
39. INF Mason McCoy

Removed from 40-man roster

OF Tirso Ornelas (designated for assignment)
RHP Jhony Brito (60-day injured list)

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San Diego, CA

San Diego Bishop Is Out of a Job

Published

23 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of the Chaldean Catholic bishop of San Diego, California, a decision announced Tuesday by the Vatican after the bishop was arrested on embezzlement charges. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said last week it had arrested Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta on Thursday at San Diego International Airport as he tried to leave the country, reports the AP. The office said it acted after someone from Shaleta’s church provided a statement and documentation “showing potential embezzlement from the church.” Shaleta was being held on $125,000 bail on eight counts of embezzlement, money laundering, and aggravated white collar crime, the statement said. Shaleta pleaded not guilty on Monday, reports NBC San Diego.

“He was on his way to Germany,” prosecutor Joel Madero said. “Given his access to funds, the fact that he had over $9,000 in the bag when he was stopped, and the fact that he has these international ties … I do believe that some bail to ensure he shows up is appropriate.” There was no immediate reply to an email sent to Shaleta’s parish, St. Peter Chaldean Church, seeking comment and contact information for his attorney. The Vatican said in its daily bulletin Tuesday that Leo had accepted Shaleta’s resignation under the code of canon law for eastern rite churches that allows for the pope to agree if a bishop asks to step down.

Leo actually accepted the resignation when Shaleta presented it in February, but an announcement was not made until Tuesday, according to the Vatican embassy in Washington. The Holy See appears to have waited to announce the decision to avoid interfering with the police investigation. Leo named Bishop Saad Hanna Sirop as a temporary administrator. Shaleta, 69, was ordained a priest of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Detroit in 1984. He was named to the San Diego branch of the eastern rite Catholic Church in the US in 2017.

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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Germán Márquez

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Padres roster review: Germán Márquez – San Diego Union-Tribune

GERMÁN MÁRQUEZ

Position(s): Right-handed pitcher
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2026 opening day age: 31
Height / Weight: 6-foot-1 / 230 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in February 2026
Contract status: Will make $1 million in 2026 with a $750,000 buyout on a mutual option for 2027; can add up to $3.25 million in performance bonuses.
fWAR in 2025: 0.3
Key 2025 stats: 3-16, 6.70 ERA, 83 strikeouts, 48 walks, 1.71 WHIP, .317 opponent average, 126⅓ innings (26 starts)

STAT TO NOTE

36.9 — The percentage of groundballs that Márquez yielded in 2025, a career low and significantly below his career average (48%). Márquez’s groundball rate was regularly above 50% before requiring Tommy John surgery in early 2023. He made one start in 2024 and struggled mightily while making 26 starts last year.

Down — Márquez had a 4.40 ERA through his first seven years in the majors, not bad considering he pitched roughly half his games at one of the best hitting environments in the majors. In fact, Márquez has a 5.17 ERA in his career at Coors Field and a 4.22 ERA in road environments. But Márquez underwent Tommy John surgery early in 2023, made one start in the majors in mid-July in 2024 (4 IP, 3 ER) and struggled throughout his first full year back in the Rockies rotation. The season was so difficult for Márquez that he was actually worse on the road (7.32 ERA) than he was in 11 starts at Coors Field (5.98 ERA). His strikeout rate (5.9 per nine innings) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.73) were the worst of his careers, as was his walk rate (3.4 per nine innings), while his hit rate (12.0 per nine innings) was the second worst of his career. On top of that, Márquez’s groundball rate was also the lowest of his career (see stat to note) and ranked in the bottom 22nd percentile of the league and his hard-hit rate (48.5%) and average exit velocity (91.7 mph) both ranked in the bottom 2 percentile of the league. One reason: a 94.8 mph four-seamer is down a few ticks than the height of his effectiveness. Márquez reached free agency after the season and signed with the Padres in February.

2026 OUTLOOK

Márquez has a big-league deal with the Padres, but he’ll have to rediscover his pre-elbow-reconstruction form to hold onto a roster spot, as RHP Griffin Canning (Achilles) is expected to push for a spot at some point this season and the likes of LHP JP Sears, RHP Matt Waldron and minor league signees like Marco Gonzales could warrant looks if Márquez’s struggles continue into 2026.

German Marquez #33 of the San Diego Padres participates in drills during spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026 in Peoria, Ariz.(Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)