Tatis, Cease shine in Padres' third straight victory

PHOENIX -- Led by a breakout Fernando Tatis Jr. has deserved and a bounceback start Dylan Cease needed, the Padres thumped the D-backs 7-1 on Friday night at Chase Field for their third straight victory.

San Diego didn't have a hit against D-backs starter Slade Cecconi until the fourth inning when Tatis followed a Jurickson Profar walk with a Statcast-projected 419-foot blast. Jake Cronenworth made it back-to-back jacks with a shot to right, and suddenly, the floodgates opened.

"Well-played game in all phases," said Padres manager Mike Shildt. "Cease set the tone, throwing up zeros, and then Tati with the big two-run homer, Cronny follows him and I love the fact that we added on even after that with Jackson [Merrill] driving in Manny."

Cease saw his ERA jump nearly an entire run after last Saturday's setback against the Phillies, but on Friday, he returned to the form that allowed him to reel off three straight wins in April. The right-hander held the D-backs to a run on three hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out eight while walking none for the second time in his last three starts.

"That's a great recipe for a lot of zeros and a lot of innings," Shildt said. "His stuff's elite when he's controlling counts and making them put the ball in play. With his swing-and-miss stuff, it's impressive. He's done a tremendous job."

Cease, acquired March 13 in a trade with the White Sox, has been the ace the Padres need as they try to return to the postseason and move past last year's disappointing 82-80 finish. And though nothing was final as of postgame, the clubhouse was excited by the reported deal for San Diego to acquire back-to-back batting champion Luis Arraez from Miami.

"It's exciting and I think it shows a commitment to trying to put the best team out there, which I think fires everybody up," Cease said.

"I was surprised at my trade timing, and then this one is just as surprising, so I think there's just a commitment to going out and doing what it takes, and I really respect that."

Tatis, who has had some of the worst batted-ball luck in MLB this season, added an RBI single in the fifth and another in the seventh for his fourth three-hit game of 2024. He said it's been a challenge to stay with his approach and not try to force the balls to fall.

"It ain't easy," Tatis said. "Obviously you want the results, you want to perform, but in this game you only control what you're able to control."

Statcast measures three "expected" stats, which give a number that the player should have given their batted-ball data: expected batting average, expected slugging percentage, and expected weighted on-base average. By comparing those results to the actual BA, SLG, and wOBA, we can see which players have had good or bad luck based on the quality of their contact.

Tatis' numbers heading into Friday:

BA: .233

xBA: .297

MLB rank: 14th highest negative differential

SLG: .426

xSLG: .532

MLB rank: 26th highest negative differential

wOBA: .334

xwOBA: .394

MLB rank: 18th highest negative differential

"He could easily start to chase when he's going through a [tough] stretch, but he's barreled balls all year. He's taken great at-bats all season long," Shildt said. "I know the frustration level is there when you don't get rewarded for it, as much as he cares about performing for this team. … Tonight, he got rewarded, and we're looking for more of that trend."

Shildt is hoping to see less of another Tatis trend: the number of times he's been knocked down by high-and-tight fastballs. The latest one came in the ninth inning on Friday against D-backs reliever Scott McGough.

"We're seeing way too many pitches up and in on Tati. It's enough. It really is enough," Shildt said. "You want to throw in, that's fine, but I don't know what people think they're trying to accomplish by throwing up and in. All you're doing is pissing the guy off and it's uncalled for. …

"It's not this individual situation. … It's happening way too frequently, regardless of opponent, and it's not something we're going to tolerate much longer."

Tatis agrees.

"They throw at my head every single day," Tatis said. "I'm trying to stay in the game, but I feel like there's been too many of those already. …

"Pitchers are trying to throw up and in. I feel like that's one of the only ways to get me out. But at the same time, you're throwing to my head, so if you can't go inside just figure it out and clean it up."