Sept. 14 – Fernando Tatis Jr. will continue his quest for a third consecutive 20-homer season as the San Diego Padres get their second consecutive win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.
Tatis drove in his 17th run with a three-run homer in the first inning of a 5-0 victory over Giants All-Star Logan Weber on Friday after Luis Arraez’s leadoff single.
Tatis, 25, hit 22 home runs as a rookie in 2019 but has only missed 20 home runs twice in his career — hitting 17 home runs in 59 games in 2022, when he missed the entire season due to injury and suspension.
He led the National League with 42 home runs in 130 games in 2021 and followed that up with 25 home runs in 141 games last year.
He hit 14 home runs in his first 80 games of the season before suffering a stress fracture in his right thigh and missing 59 games. After returning on September 2, he did not hit a home run in his first six games, but has hit deep in each of his last three games.
Tatis said he loved it when the Padres (83-65) competed for the National League’s three wild-card spots along with the Arizona Diamondbacks (82-65), New York Mets (81-66) and Atlanta Braves (80-67) this season. It came down to his postgame seat.
“I’m in a really good place right now,” Tatis said. “Moving forward, I feel really good. I feel really confident and I feel like I can do anything on the baseball field.”
Tatis didn’t hit a home run, but went 3 of 10 with a two-run homer last week as the San Diego Giants (72-76) took two of three from the Padres.
When the Padres attacked Giants starter Mason Black in last Friday’s series opener, he hit a run in the first inning as part of a three-run rebellion. Manny Machado finished the scoring drive with a home run.
Black (0-3, 7.50 ERA) allowed just one run in 4 2/3 innings, earning the loss in his first start against the Padres. He’ll take the field Saturday against San Diego with growing confidence.
“I’m just trying to keep it all together,” the newbie said. “Just keep growing and keep learning.”
The 24-year-old right-hander is still looking for his first big league win. He has made six career appearances, including five starts.
The Padres have scheduled right-hander Joe Musgrove (5-5, 4.54) to duel with Black.
Like his counterpart, Musgrove was outplayed by Saturday’s opponent in his most recent start, a 7-6 loss to the Giants last Sunday. He gave up six runs, giving up home runs to Matt Chapman, Gerard Encarnacion and Luis Matos in the fourth inning.
The 31-year-old was hit hard in his previous two starts with the Giants this season, allowing 10 runs in 10 innings. He will make his 16th career start against San Francisco and is 4-5 with a 4.46 ERA in his first 15 starts.
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