The San Diego Padres demolished the Kansas City Royals, 19-2, on Sunday afternoon and improved to 49-50 on the year as they avoided the sweep at Kauffman Stadium. Right-hander Germán Márquez got the start and punched out a pair while allowing as many earned runs. Then, Yuki Matsui struck out three across two perfect innings of work, Randy Vásquez struck out two over three scoreless innings and Wandy Peralta finished things off with a 10-pitch ninth inning.Offensively, Jackson Merrill and Ty France each had a two-home run game (including both slugging long balls in the ninth) while Luis Rengifo and Sung-Mun Song both had three-hit performances. France, Jase Bowen and Fernando Tatis Jr. all had two-hit games, with one of Tatis' hits being his seventh home run of the year and second game in a row with a deep shot. It was a much-needed win for the Padres to head into their next series with some momentum.Ahead of the eventual thrashing, the Friars cut ties with a veteran pitcher as part of a major roster move that activated Vásquez from the injured list. The right-hander who was designated for assignment logged 47 innings of work and attained a 4.79 ERA in those 33 appearances this season.Additionally, the Friars announced their starting pitchers for what is a critical series against the Atlanta Braves this week. Starting pitching has been an area of disappointment for San Diego this season, and with the impending trade deadline on Aug. 3, the Padres need to keep winning to prove to president of baseball operations that this team is worth buying for.Finally, and perhaps the reason why the Padres are wary to make trades in a distinctive direction, some of the team's decision makers are reportedly skeptical as to if there will be a postseason for San Diego this year.A team insider revealed the harsh truth that many around the organization believe about the current team, but a flurry of deadline trades and key pieces returning from the injured list can certainly have them singing a different tune.Here’s all the latest Padres news and stories (click the headline for the full article): Padres Cut Ties With Veteran Pitcher, Bring Back Randy Vasquez in 4-Player Roster Move Padres Announce Starting Pitchers for Season-Deciding Series vs Braves Padres' Decision Makers Skeptical About Making Playoffs in 2026 Padres' Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta Take Major Steps Toward ReturnPadres Tweets of the DayJackson Merrill has himself a 2-homer game! pic.twitter.com/fEGlpg2krn— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2026To the bullpen and beyond 🚀 pic.twitter.com/xxPSaiU5qR— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 19, 2026Ty France just put an exclamation point on this one. GRAND SLAM! pic.twitter.com/iK9iK2A5Dq— SleeperPadres (@SleeperPadres) July 19, 2026Have a day, Kid. pic.twitter.com/9Ar11fJc2t— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 19, 2026Adding on 💪 pic.twitter.com/Unu4P89x9l— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 19, 2026Getting after it. pic.twitter.com/2kqZ7xeBRW— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 19, 2026We have reinstated RHP Randy Vásquez from the 15-day IL and designated RHP Ron Marinaccio for assignment.We have also reinstated LHP Wandy Peralta from the Bereavement List and optioned RHP Jhony Brito to Triple-A El Paso.— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 19, 2026Los niños se divirtieron. pic.twitter.com/KZT2VU481B— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 19, 2026Ethan Salas laces a 111 mph double to center. His second hit of the night. https://t.co/anjDndnmqz pic.twitter.com/n8ga3pFkKe— Clark Fahrenthold (@CFahrenthold11) July 20, 2026— El Paso Chihuahuas (@epchihuahuas) July 19, 2026Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X/Twitter for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow