San Diego Padres at Kansas City Royals

The Royals seemed refreshed when they reconvened at Kauffman Stadium on Friday afternoon after the All-Star break, and their play the past two days now has reflected it. Following their wild walk-off win on Friday, the Royals beat the Padres, 6-1, on Saturday to earn them just their second series win in their last seven sets. Not much has gone right for the Royals (40-59) this season, but these back-to-back victories out of the break have them feeling more confident in the type of baseball they want to play -- and they hope they can just build on it, no matter where it leads them down the stretch. “I think it shows a little bit of fight,” center fielder Lane Thomas said. “We know we’re in a little bit of a hole and have to do it relatively quick, and I feel like it’s a good time to start.” Despite the record, there are plenty of things to learn over these final 63 games of the season, including the continued improvement of such young players as Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen, both of whom contributed to Saturday’s win, and stronger second halves from Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez, whose 315th career homer on Saturday brought him just two away from tying George Brett’s franchise record.