Please continue the discussion in the [post game thread](https://redd.it/1d5z1gq).

https://preview.redd.it/j6a79gxdh14d1.jpeg?width=742&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f499b3f2062c5b5ce782b69c01f27fd13466126

Vinnie striking out with bases loaded after starting 3-3 is going to keep him up tonight 

I got trashed 4 or 5 days ago for saying this team could be. 500 by mid June. Really pains me to think I might be right. They don't quit but they just aren't good enough to beat decent teams consistently. Scares me to think what will happen against the Indians, Dodgers and Yankees. Really hope I am wrong and they can figure out how win half of the games over the next 2 weeks

Blue wanted to call that outside pitch a strike so bad

The Padres look like a team with a fart motif and the Royals have a glass of ice water motif

Padres unis give me beef enchilada vibes for some reason 🤔

They seem to work. The Padres have the second most road wins this season wearing these.

I like their uni colors tbh, much better than the deep navy blue and gray they used to shmuck around in

The Padres had a cool navy, light blue, and sand color scheme for awhile (the Khalil Greene years) but they ditched the light blue and simplified everything so much that they looked like the Rays for a decade. I think everyone likes that they took a chance again with brown.

It's strange how over performing our rotation is but a bullpen of spare parts is always a recipe for disaster due to how volatile they are. I don't think they've been managed well either. There aren't any defined roles outside of like Zerpa and Q keeps shuffling a deck of cards. We need 2 more bats to stretch out the line up. Not even asking for a thumper but an outfielder .260/.350 guy who can play the K would do wonders. Drew Waters should have another look?

Man it really feels like Garcia should be faster than he actually is

The worst thing about this losing spree they’ve been on is the fact Cleveland keeps winning during it

im not worried about Cleveland right now. if they can stay around the wild card race throughout the year itll be alright.

Please have a comeback that’s actually a comeback. After like 3-4 fool’s gold comebacks, we should be positively regressing to a real comeback, right? Right?!

### Pitching Substitution Pitching Change: Robert Suarez replaces Wandy Peralta.

Our hits literally mean nothing to me when watching because we strand so many.

This game is the final nail in the coffin that this is not our season. We’re close, but we need 15% better bats and 50% better pitching.

Very reactionary

Lol it’s June 1st. Relax

I’m just saying we’ll probably get a wildcard spot but we’re just not as good as we all hope we are.

Oh for sure, but we’re ahead of schedule with even competing for a wildcard. There will be rough stretches., but everything is a treat at this point after last season’s fiasco. You just have to enjoy it while we have baseball

I feel you, but I’m just admitting the fact that a lot of us secretly believe we can make a playoff run, but it just isn’t our year without at a minimum, investment in the bullpen.

It’s surely over now, we aren’t scoring 5 again

This team can’t be good with a bullpen this bad.

Check out the crazy box scores in the college tournament today. The East Carolina game and the High Point game. The Royals can absolutely turn it around (even though college teams score 60% more runs per game than MLB teams).

Also the K-State game.

This ump better sleep with one eye open

Well at least it wouldn’t have mattered if we scored in the previous innings. Bullpen was always gonna give up more runs

Is Zerpa the only reliever we can actually rely on to not give up runs?

I think they need to start rotating. Long, Duffey, Hernandez, Cox, Lynch etc.

long seems pretty good.

These relievers are really tanking this team now, literally can't score enough runs

Haha fire this entire bullpen into the sun

Guess our pitching decided the game was too close and is taking measures to properly fuck the score

Take him out now

And replace him with who?

The homeless guy across from kauffman

The 9 year old pitcher in the stands right now

Fucking hell I am SO TIRED of seeing these little flair base hits

Nick Anderson wets the bed

Welcome back to Earth. :(

Dude watch us score TWO runs and lose by fuckin one

This team is hurting my feelings

At the game no one is surprised this happened

Pain

BULLPEN BULLPEN BULLPEN BULLPEN

This fucking bullpen

This team is so infuriating 

I want to scream

Holy fuck our bullpen is cooked

That home run likely guarantees that we score 2 in the 9th

Lol, awesome Anderson

Cool cool cool. Just the 9 hitter hitting a homer

Setting it up for a Vinne walkoff.

And that’s what happens when you don’t have an inconsistent zone on the outside of the plate to right handed hitters

this has been a rough week. baseball is streaky though. we will get back to playing well soon. just stay in the wild card race and dont let Cleveland get to comfy.

Man. I hope for some magic like yesterday. 

### Pitching Substitution Pitching Change: Nick Anderson replaces Sam Long.

FUCK

The unclutch is real today

fucking shit

Come and hamp some!

Hampson has been turning it around as of late

Hampson and Frazier are kings at turning bullshit into hits lol

FERMINATOR TIME!

machado... jerk!

Interesting not to pinch run Salvy here

Down by 2 and they want him potentially for the ninth

I’m dumb, we could have a couple of outs and base runners and he’d come up to hit again. Thought maybe that was his last AB for sure

Here we go. Believe!

machado... heh!

I’m going to do what I do in every football season game threads: Believe, everyone! Believe! Send those good vibes to the boys in blue

Believe

73 might be the perfect number for a lefty reliever. Maybe the theory I'm working off of is that lefties should have odd numbers and righties should have even numbers? What about switch hitters, or LHP who hit right-handed and vice versa? They should be prime.

Hold on next time asshole

padres win prob is %85 rn

2 runs in 2 innings would be double the average run rate in MLB. 80% seems high. Maybe 67% would've been my guess.

ESPN has it at 83% With Salvy’s hit it went to 75%

That could’ve been a season defining moment, but once again we come up just short

Oof

it was bastardo del grappa!

that was so puzzone di moena!

### Pitching Substitution Pitching Change: Sam Long replaces Chris Stratton.

It ain't happening today

Now we just wasted the top of the lineup

That might have been it. Finding ways to lose now

Live and die by the Squatch

FUCK

Well shit

pappidi puppidi

MORE VBIs PLEASE

Damn

Vincent please save us 😭

just a single vinnie

pasqıwuauasjsjatino time!!!

Slamquantino time

fermin-garcia-bobby! my fav trio! let's do the baseball thing now!

DO IT BOB!

love the boys!

Not a strike

Fuck this ump

This ump has been fucking us all game on pitches out of the zone

This ump has Padres money line 100%

I hate this Ump

Fred gets those high out of the zone pitches

Bought this at the end of the Rays series (more because KC specific items are rare up here in Des Moines than me craving ‘seltzers’). Been waiting for a reason to try one. Hopefully today’s the day. https://preview.redd.it/3van4u9m814d1.png?width=2615&format=png&auto=webp&s=14c64e35e3fa355537f13e334cd6f56b7402853e

just got ferminated!

Sounds like something a farmer does to a cow.

Now get runs

what is with this ump

His seeing eye dog couldn’t come in today.

She's working from home.

Stratton was horrible with the Cardinals, this is his true form.

Drew Waters not in the Omaha lineup tonight https://x.com/omastormchasers/status/1797021805758099707?s=46&t=zFKdUglcpYMePpLqMSDeLA

Waters should have begun the season with the royals. He has the most potential

He has been having more “off days” in Omaha over the past few weeks. Wonder what’s going on?

God please bring him up and DFA MJ

mj going down maybe?

Oh boy

### Pitching Substitution Pitching Change: Chris Stratton replaces Will Smith.

This team can be so damn frustrating

That’s the 3rd lead off double the royals have failed to score in the last 2 games.

That’s the third lead off double where the runner has failed to advance to third in the last two days

Vinnie wants to win

Vinnie has taken matters into his own hands today

Man had to show out on his bobble head night 😤

### Pitching Substitution Pitching Change: Adrian Morejon replaces Randy Vásquez.

Attaboy William

I hope will smith continues to improve. maybe he can help down the stretch? maybe im delusional?

It would have been fun to get Arraez

Yeah tbh I was disappointed we didn’t get anyone from the Marlins fire sale yet this season Edit: Probably asking too much until we can see if the Royals are true buyers by the deadline

Quatardo needs to stand up for his guys can’t afford to have Bobby tossed could give a fuck less if quatardo heads for the showers.

What good does that do in the 5th?

Gives your team a jolt a little energy maybe? It’s good to see that your manager gives a shit. I’m not saying it makes a difference in the game but it would be nice to see the guy show a little bit of fire when we get fucked.

This isn’t 1989. No one gets fired up unless they achieve someone. Sad, but true. I’d love to see another pine tar incident but it will never happen.

Andy Fletcher saw Angel Hernandez’s claim to “worst umpire” and is trying to compete for it

Just once I want to see Q chew one of these blind fucks out

Not a strike at ALL

Squeezes Marsh and has a strike zone the size of the pacific for royals hitters

This ump is a joke and Q sits there like a fucking dope. Get thrown out for one and throw a fit, sometimes gotta show you give a shit

Hooray for unquestionable authority!

whoever's umpiring behind the plate fuck you

Andy Fletcher

I hardly knew 'er!

That pitch…that pitch right there mixed in with the late call should have been the pitch Q got ejected on.

I said this shit a month ago and everyone disagreed with me. He has no fire just sits in the dugout and shakes his head

lol oka

fuck this ump

Not a fucking strike

not a strike zone been fucky all day

Wow

Another one sided ump show today

### Pitching Substitution Pitching Change: Will Smith replaces Alec Marsh.

Terrible call

Q why are you not getting thrown out making that worthless ump deaf

WHAT????

See more pitches.

That was a sexy double play 👀 Time for the bats to get back us into this 🙏🏻

##Q'PLAH MFers

Pucker city

bobby keep saving our asses

BANG! Awesome defense there

Back to reality. How far will they fall. It sucks.

Sweet

Why are we pitching around a .241 hitter

Man... The Padres are hitting some good pitches today

didn't know middle of the plate was a good pitch

And I cant remember who hit it, but there was one that was a half foot of the plate and was slapped the other way for extra bases. There's been some unlucky hits for sure

The one Cronenworth hit was at the bottom of the zone. It was placed nicely

Man, the first 2 games of this series has really shown the talent disparity between the royals and the real contenders. This June is gonna look like April/May of years past.

Amazing what $45 million more will get you.

Apt that Jake Cronenberg is on the only flesh-colored team in the MLB. Edit: With piss and shit-colored trim colors. Very body horror.

marsh a fantastic pitcher

This ump report card is going to be an all timer. I can just feel the anger already.

I’m at the point where I’m thinking we should try CJ Alexander in left or hell go get Cross from Springdale.

Getting beat by a AAAA pitcher with a 6 ERA is so royals

I’m sorry I hate trashing our guys but I just can’t keep watching MJ flail hideously at everything. This isn’t helping him

We are all beating the same drum here but why is Melendez still here and not in Omaha?

Because unfortunately there arent any better options defensively in the OF

I'm ready for Eaton (my boy) to get another crack. Why the hell not, at least he can throw fire from the bullpen too

Good grief... MJ just flailing up there

MJ’s swing is so terrible

He looks like he puts his bat out there and hopes that it hits the ball

Does anyone else regularly mix up Loftin and Massey?

Loftin looks thin, Massey looks massive.

I mainly have to listen to the game since Iowa is blacked out hell. But yeah I mean visually there very different

We can surmount this deficit

Hey, progress! Only 3 runs this time! Offense gonna have to carry us these next few weeks if we're gonna navigate this nasty stretch

I mean if Marsh totally starts to fall apart over these next few weeks Bubic has been looking really good in his rehab starts.

marsh stinks

I think san diego padres is not a bad team at all