Homer? Splits? Near-cycle? Tatis does it all

SAN DIEGO -- These days, the Padres -- winners of six straight and sitting atop the Majors with 27 victories -- seem to find a way to win no matter who’s in their lineup. But it sure is a lot more fun when Fernando Tatis Jr. is at the center of it all.

Less than 90 minutes before first pitch on Wednesday afternoon, the Padres got word that their superstar shortstop had been cleared to return from the injured list, after testing positive for COVID-19 10 days ago. Tatis rolled right into Petco Park, suited up, took a few swings in the cage …

… and shook off the rust by going 4-for-4 with a home run and a pair of doubles in the Padres’ 3-0 victory over the Rockies.

“It was really hard,” Tatis said of his 10-day absence, during which he quarantined and was only able to take dry swings and watch video. “It was so tough. But I was happy the boys were balling, and they were still playing good baseball. All credit to them for that. I just came back and added a little bit more to what the team has been doing.”

He put the full Fernando Tatis Jr. experience on display from the outset, too.

In his first trip to the plate, Tatis hit a hard single up the middle, followed by a stolen base and a ridiculous slide into second, during which Tatis maintained his grasp on the bag while doing a full split.

“He takes nine days off, and the first time he gets on base, he does the splits at second,” said Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove, who worked seven scoreless innings. “That’s just him, man.”

Tatis found the whole situation amusing afterward.

“I was telling myself to put my foot on the bag to keep the stolen base,” Tatis added. “Next thing, I saw myself in a split, and I was like, ‘Oh. Wow. I still can do this.’”

Two innings later, Tatis made things a bit easier on himself by launching a no-doubt 415-foot home run to right-center, his team-leading 10th of the season, to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. Jake Cronenworth doubled that advantage with an inside-the-park home run in the sixth, the first at Petco Park since Tony Gwynn Jr.'s 11 years ago.

Tatis followed Cronenworth’s inside-the-parker with a rocket double into the left-field corner. Needing a triple for the cycle in the eighth, he again sent a laser to the wall in left, but he scorched it far too hard for him to entertain any thoughts of the first cycle in the ballpark’s history. He loped into second base for another double instead, plating Trent Grisham as the game’s third and final run.

“Would’ve been great if I could’ve gotten the cycle out of my things-to-do list,” Tatis said with a laugh. “We came up short. But that’s definitely something I’m looking for the future for.”

Considering Tatis’ unflinching flair for the dramatic, you wouldn’t put it past him. Wednesday’s game marked the second time this year that he returned from a stint on the IL and launched a home run.

It's been a stop-and-start season for Tatis, who also missed 10 days earlier in the season due to a partially dislocated left shoulder. He's only played in 27 games this year, but he owns a .959 OPS with 10 homers and eight steals.

Needless to say, the Padres could surely use that kind of production back in their lineup.

“You definitely miss him,” manager Jayce Tingler said. “You miss … the presence. You see what Tatis is able to do, being able to take over that game offensively gave us a spark today.”

Eric Hosmer returned from the IL on Wednesday, too, after he'd missed a week due to contact-tracing protocols. Utility men Jorge Mateo and Jurickson Profar rejoined the team on Monday, meaning the Padres are only left waiting on Wil Myers, who tested positive for COVID-19 two days after Tatis. The team is optimistic Myers could return from the IL at some point during this weekend’s series against the Mariners.

Nine days ago, the Padres were left to ponder how they would be able to withstand the loss of so many key contributors on offense. They didn’t merely withstand it. They thrived through it, winning eight of nine to move into a virtual tie with the Giants atop the National League West.

“It was tough to see from home, but it was great to see my teammates ball out,” Tatis said. “That’s what great teams do. That’s what happens when you have deep teams.”

If nothing else, the Padres proved exactly that over the past nine days: They’re a deep team. And they just added their most electric player back into the fold.