Wacha and walks help them snap losing skid at 5 games
have been more helpful.
The Padres scored their first three runs Monday on two hits, five walks, a hit batter, an error and a wild pitch.
The hit batter was Machado, who was struck by a slider on the top of his left hand in the second inning and played two more innings in the field before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the fifth.
The game against the last-place team in the American League Central proved nothing, except maybe that a team does not have to swing its way out of a funk.
The Padres had a total of five hits. They walked 10 times, eight of those issued by Royals starter Brad Keller before he was lifted with two outs in the fourth inning.
A leadoff single by Fernando Tatis Jr., an error by Keller and a wild pitch gifted
the Padres a run in the first inning.
They scored two more runs on another Tatis single, four walks and a hit batter in the second inning.
A single by Bogaerts, walk by Matt Carpenter and single by Ha-Seong Kim added a run in the seventh.
The Padres entered the game batting an MLB-worst .198 with runners in scoring position and were 2-for-9 in that circumstance Monday. They had lost seven of eight and fallen to 19-22, which
was the 10th-best (or sixthworst) record in the National League.
They are still waiting to hit consistently. But with walks and Wacha, they are no longer waiting for a win.
“We’ve been struggling a little bit,” Wacha said. “This clubhouse is full of guys that are confident and we know things will turn around. I was just trying to go out there and give the guys a chance to win.”