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Padres lose lead late, drop below .500 with loss to Dodgers

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Padres lose lead late, drop below .500 with loss to Dodgers


LOS ANGELES — Adrian Morejón made the pitch he was supposed to and got the result he was supposed to.

But that pitch might have begun the Padres’ final minute of relevance in 2026.

Because 58 seconds later, as Teoscar Hernández’s grand slam cleared the wall in left-center field, Dodger Stadium was literally rocking and the Padres were clearly shaken.

“Games like this, games like the last six nights, it’s not great,” second baseman Jake Cronenworth said late Friday night. “We’ve got to somehow turn it around, and me not making that play doesn’t help.”

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He referred to a 4-3 loss to the Dodgers that ran the Padres’ losing streak to seven games, and he referred to his booting a double-play grounder in the seventh inning that immediately preceded Hernández’s homer.

“I lost this game,” Cronenworth said. “Simple as that.”

It was a bitter ending to a night that showed the potential of the Padres’  No.1 starter and their  offense to keep the team contending.

Michael King worked six scoreless innings in the most economical way, and the Padres built a 3-0 lead by scoring in the first, fourth and sixth innings against Shohei Ohtani.

Then King’s command faltered at the start of the seventh inning, and the Padres’ season continued to slip away with it.

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Two innings later, they were officially a sub-.500 team.

The Padres did not reach base against Edgardo Henriquez in the eighth or Tanner Scott in the ninth, meekly finishing off their 26th loss in the 40 games since they beat the Dodgers on May 18 to move into first place in the National League West.

The Padres were 29-18 at that point. They are now 43-44 and sit four games out of the final NL wild-card spot.

Their five losses on this road trip included a 23-3 drubbing Wednesday in Chicago and a 12-7 loss Thursday in a game they led 6-0 after two innings.

“They’re testing how we can handle the failures of the season and if we can come back,” manager Craig Stammen said of the recent results. “And I like the attitude of this team. I think we will come back. Right now, it stinks. It feels very awful. It’s a gut punch, but we’ve got to bounce back tomorrow and play our best game.”

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That was what especially stung Friday. They played well.

King’s outing was the first in seven games by a Padres starting pitcher that lasted longer than 4⅔ innings. It was the first time in 10 games that a Padres starter made it through six innings.

But he began the seventh by walking Mookie Betts and yielding a soft single to Max Muncy.

Morejón was brought in to face Kyle Tucker and got him to hit what seemed to be a double-play grounder directly at Cronenworth, who hurried a bit too much and had the ball come out of his glove as he went to transfer it to his hand.

“Morejón coming into the game, I know a groundball is coming to me,” Cronenworth said. “I was anticipating it the whole time he walking in from the bullpen and I didn’t make the play and lost the game for us.”

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That and the slider Morejón left thigh high and over the middle of the plate.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating,” Morejón said through interpreter Jorge Merlos. “You’re talking about a bullpen that everybody relies on, and unfortunately today it was my day that it hit me. We’re going through a rough spot. And it just feels even more difficult, not just for myself but especially the outing that Michael had out there and the way he was throwing. They call on me for those situations that I’ll be able to get out of it, and unfortunately it didn’t happen tonight.”

The normally loquacious and candid King was in no mood to discuss the outing in depth. For the first time in his three seasons with the Padres, his postgame answers were clipped and terse.

His pitches were doing what he wanted and going where he wanted for six innings, perhaps on par with his best outings of the season.

“Fine,” he said of his outing. “Didn’t win the game.”

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While King frequently is of the opinion he should be left in a game, it seemed readily apparent he did not think he should have been taken out after 75 pitches.

“I wanted the next batter,” he said.

Stammen had other plans. He decided to try to ride Morejón and closer Mason Miller for the fional nine outs.

“Dominated,” Stammen said of King. “Great outing by him. One of his best. He had a tough one the last one, and he bounced back with one of his better ones. He knew we needed it, and he gave it to us. We just weren’t able to finish it off for him.

“It always makes it tougher when you have a lead late in the game and aren’t able to hold it and finish the game. He was very efficient with his pitch count and probably had more in the tank, but at that point we felt really good about going to our bullpen and using one of our best guys to get some of their left-handed hitters.”

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Instead, after Morejón got through the seventh, Bradgley Rodriguez worked the seventh.

Where the Padres’ offense failed at the end, getting runners on first and second with one out in the seventh before making the final eighth outs in succession, it started well against Ohtani, who shut them out over five innings last month and entered the game with a 1.58 ERA.

The Padres scored the first run Ohtani surrendered in the first inning this season when Fernando Tatis Jr. and Cronenworth walked to start the game and Gavin Sheets drove in Tatis with a one-out single.

That hit also got Cronenworth to third, where he was stranded when Ty France and Jackson Merrill struck out.

All three pitches to Merrill were fastballs — the first and last at 100 mph, the middle one at 101.

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Ohtani threw 29 pitches in the first and then retired the next eight batters on 34 pitches before Merrill came up with two outs in the fourth and homered to center field on a 100 mph fastball — on a 2-0 pitch that immediately followed Merrill winning an ABS challenge.

The Padres scored in the sixth on a two-out single by Merrill and Xander Bogaerts’ double.

King got through MLB’s most dangerous lineup in 30 pitches and without anyone reaching base before allowing his first hit — a two-out single by Freddie Freeman — in an eight-pitch fourth inning.

Against the Dodgers five days earlier at Petco Park, King navigated four innings having allowed a run on two hits and thrown strikes on nearly three-quarters of his 61 pitches. Then, in his words, he “fully lost it.”

He retired one of the six batters he faced, walked three, hit one and allowed a single as the Dodgers scored three runs and ran him from the game.

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On Friday, King struck out two and added just 12 pitches in a 1-2-3 fifth inning and was at 68 pitches after stranding runners at first and second in the sixth.

Then came the end, with the Padres’ best starter unable to get an out and one of their best fielders making an error and one of their best relievers making a bad pitch.

“It’s a tough game and good opponent,” Stammen said. “Sometimes, things you think should always happen — it’s a game of failure and bouncing back, and tonight that kind of hurt us there in just that one inning, but we played eight other good innings. … It adds to the frustration of this last week of baseball for us. Those guys are very dependable players.”



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San Diego, CA

WEBTOON Brings Top Creators for San Diego Comic-Con Panels

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WEBTOON Brings Top Creators for San Diego Comic-Con Panels


Global entertainment company Webtoon is returning to the hallowed halls of San Diego Comic-Con with a larger-than-life slate of panels featuring top talent and fresh announcements.

They will be shining the spotlight on some of today’s most engaging webcomic creators, including Derek V. Song (Fantasy High) and Punko (Cinderella Boy).

Let’s take a look at their schedule:

Thursday, July 23 – 10am – Room 29AB
Creature Craft: Visionaries of Horror Comics Share Their Secrets
This panel features Punko, creator of Stagtown and Cinderella Boy on WEBTOON; Cullen Bunn, creator of Ripcord and Deluge for Ignition Press; and Cat Staggs, co-creator of Death Mask, and artist on Tales for a HalloweeNight for Storm King Comics. Rotem Rusak, Editor-in-Chief at Nerdist, will moderate.

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Friday, July 24 – 10am – Room 32AB
Love in Every Universe: The Great Romance Trope Debate
Join ROSEOAK, creator of Not So Silent on WEBTOON, Alessandra Ferreri, Head of Content at Wattpad, E.M. Wilson, author of Situationship, and Becca Erin Title, founder of Meet Cute Romance Bookshop. The panel is moderated by Crystal Bell, the Culture Editor at Mashable.

Friday, July 24 – 1pm – Room 32AB
Adapting Fantasy High for WEBTOON with Derek V. Song
Featuring Derek V. Song, writer of Fantasy High. Fans will get a behind-the-scenes look at adapting the beloved Dimension 20 series for WEBTOON and learn more about bringing the world of Fantasy High to a new visual format.

Saturday, July 25 – 11:30am – Room 24ABC
What’s Next from WEBTOON Entertainment 
Featuring Ryan Lee, Head of Content at WEBTOON; Sydney Bright, Head of Global Animation at WEBTOON Productions; Erik Kozura, Producer at WEBTOON; ROSEOAK, creator of Not So Silent; Derek V. Song, writer of Fantasy High; Punko, creator of Stagtown and Cinderella Boy; and Ucheomaaa, creator of Vibe Check! on WEBTOON. Journalist, comic critic, and 2026 Eisner judge, Tiffany Babb, will moderate. his panel will deliver a slew of announcements, exclusive first looks, and Creator appearances from its platform and entertainment businesses. Additionally, the panel will give fans a window into what’s next from WEBTOON’s most exciting stories and projects, with news from WEBTOON Originals, WEBTOON Productions, WEBTOON Unscrolled, and more.



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San Diego, CA

Terrifying moment huge sea lions chase tourists off popular California beach

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Terrifying moment huge sea lions chase tourists off popular California beach


Beachgoers in one Southern California town had to run for their lives after two massive sea lions came out of the ocean and onto the beach in San Diego.

In a video posted July 7 on Instagram, Dion Ruzicka captured the terrifying moment the two giant sea creatures hit the shore and began chasing people at the beach on a sunny California day.

One sea lion suddenly charged at stunned beachgoers, barreling across the sand as terrified visitors shrieked and sprinted away while the barking beast gave chase.

Beachgoers in one Southern California town had to run for their lives after two massive sea lions came out of the ocean and onto the beach in San Diego. Instagram/@dionruzicka77

Moments later, a second sea lion joined the chaos, sending panicked crowds scrambling for higher ground — and even into the surf — to escape the pair’s path.

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The more people ran, the more determined the hefty marine mammals seemed, waddling after the fleeing beachgoers in a bizarre game of chase.

“Oh my God,” one person could be heard saying, in the midst of the chaotic scramble.

Video posted on July 7 captured the terrifying moment not one but two giant sea creatures hit the shore and began chasing people. Instagram/@dionruzicka77
San Diego has provided ample warnings to the public alerting them of the dangers they risk going near the wildlife living in the area. Instagram/@dionruzicka77

It didn’t matter whether the visitor was young or old, the sea lion just kept chasing them.  Finally, both animals dived back into the ocean and swam away at a quick pace.

It is not the first time such an encounter has happened in the popular La Jolla spot. A year ago, a video showed a pair of sea lions chasing beachgoers around before finally leaving.


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San Diego has warned the public about the potential dangers of going near wildlife living in the area.

“With the increase in the sea lion population, Point La Jolla has become a popular tourist destination for the public to view these wild animals close up,” a message on the city’s website read.

Officials suggest people watch the animals from the boardwalk and keep their distance from the sea lions. Instagram/@dionruzicka77

As a result, interactions between sea lions and the public have increased.

“Members of the public have been observed trying to touch, take selfies, and get as close to sea lions as possible which is a dangerous situation for both the public and the animals,” it added.

Officials suggest people watch the animals from the boardwalk and keep their distance from the sea lions.

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The summer months are pupping season for these ocean animals. Instagram/@dionruzicka77

While it is unclear what lead to Tuesday’s chase, the summer months are pupping season for these ocean animals. Mothers and fathers become protective of their young ones, and will display aggressive behavior, if they sense a threat, per officials.

“These interactions are not only dangerous for both humans and wildlife, it may be a violation of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act which helps to safeguard these animals,” the city said.

The California Post has reached out to the La Jolla Parks and Beaches group for further comment. 





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Opinion: More apartments eased rents. Townhomes could aid buyers.

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Opinion: More apartments eased rents. Townhomes could aid buyers.


San Diego’s most beloved neighborhoods, like North Park, Golden Hill and Sherman Heights, were built by people who needed a place to live and found one. But the bungalows, fourplexes and cottages that gave working San Diegans a foothold in those neighborhoods can hardly be built anywhere else in the city.

Rules written decades ago banned them. For 70 years, San Diego has been paying for that mistake in the form of a city its own workforce can no longer afford to live in.

Neighborhood Homes for All of Us is the city’s plan to fix that: family-sized townhomes, rowhouses and small duplexes built in the neighborhoods where San Diegans most want to live.

While San Diego rents are softening as new apartments are built, the cost of buying a home is not moving, and it won’t, because the rental and ownership markets run on entirely separate tracks. Renters benefit when more rentals are built, forcing landlords to compete for them.

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However, a family trying to buy a home benefits only if more homes are available for sale. San Diego home prices now exceed nine times the median household income, among the worst ratios in the nation, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Building rental housing is important, but it does not change the math for a buyer.

The homes that would change it — family-sized, on the ownership track, in the neighborhoods where people most want to raise children — have been illegal to build for decades. San Diego produced roughly 7,000 condos and townhomes a year in 2005. By 2022, that number had collapsed below 500. Part of that drop is because of litigation rules that drove up insurance costs for builders, caps on pre-sales that finance these projects and high fees. Another major reason is that we simply do not allow starter homes on smaller lots. So, instead, builders default to rentals because that’s what current rules allow them to build profitably.

London Moeder Advisors, a San Diego real estate economics firm, finds that eliminating the city’s large-lot-size mandates could produce new townhomes at 42% less cost than surrounding single-family homes without taxpayer subsidies. While this price point is still high for many, it’s more attainable for young families starting out. And importantly, the price could drop further if the state advances reforms to address litigation rules and pre-sale caps that drive up costs.

The city’s program is also focused on adding homes in San Diego’s neighborhoods with the best-performing schools and most accessible jobs. These are also the neighborhoods with the most restrictive regulations on smaller starter homes. A teacher whose classroom is in La Jolla cannot afford to live there. A firefighter stationed in Mission Hills commutes from Santee. The homes that would let them stay are currently illegal to build in much of these areas. Neighborhood Homes changes that.

While critics may say San Diego already has the tools for adding homes to neighborhoods, why add another program? Because each of those tools was for a different purpose. None were designed to add more for-sale housing.

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ADUs, the backyard homes now common across the city, typically top out at 750 square feet (because of fee cliffs) and entail intricacies when selling to own. Other tools, like Senate Bill 9, have been layered with requirements that make it far too complicated and expensive for many homeowners to split their lots to add homes. Laws like Senate Bill 79 are important for adding more housing near transit. But none of these tools focuses on family-sized, ownership-track townhomes in an established neighborhood.

The Neighborhood Homes initiative asks a simple question: Where do the families who can’t afford a million-dollar home but don’t want an apartment go? We can continue to say certain neighborhoods are off-limits to the teachers, trades workers and young families who want to live there, or San Diego can set its own terms for how they grow, with local standards in a form the city controls.

San Diego’s most beloved streets were not preserved into existence. They were built — a duplex here, a rowhouse there — by people who needed a place to live in the city they loved and found one. That is what Neighborhood Homes makes possible again.

Asad is a former board member of the YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County. He resides in Mid-City.

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