Three games in, Tatis slugs first HR of season
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PHOENIX -- Now that he has homered and stutter-stepped his way around third base, we can say it a bit more emphatically: Fernando Tatis Jr. is back.
Tatis launched his first Major League home run since 2021 in the top of the first inning of the Padres¡¯ 5-3 victory over the D-backs on Saturday night. With one out and the bases empty, he turned around a belt-high fastball from Merrill Kelly and sent it to the first row in left field at Chase Field to open the scoring.
¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve done that in the big leagues,¡± Tatis said. ¡°I¡¯m glad I got it out of the way.¡±
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Tatis returned from his 80-game PED suspension on Thursday night and had been off to a bit of a slow start. He went 0-for-5 in his return before notching a single in four at-bats on Friday night.
The receptions for Tatis have been mixed this weekend, with a number of Padres fans having made the trip from San Diego to see him play an MLB regular-season game for the first time since Oct. 3, 2021. The cheers have generally drowned out the boos -- and they certainly did after his first home run.
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Those cheers reached a crescendo when Tatis approached third base and performed his signature home run move -- a stutter and a hop. He did so a bit more emphatically than usual. It had been a while.
¡°I needed that,¡± Tatis said with a smile.
Tatis¡¯ last home run came on Sept. 30, 2021. You may remember it as the ball he hit out of Dodger Stadium entirely.
To say the least, this one wasn¡¯t quite crushed like that one was. Tatis¡¯ home run Saturday left his bat at just 89.6 mph, barely clearing the left-field fence. By exit velocity, it was the second-lowest on any home run in the Majors this season.
¡°He¡¯s just strong when he gets to extension,¡± said Padres manager Bob Melvin. ¡°Here, when the roof¡¯s open, it carries a little bit better to left field. But regardless, hitting one out at 89 is difficult.¡±
Tatis¡¯ home run on Saturday was the 82nd of his career. His first, coincidentally, also came against Kelly. This time, he fell behind 0-2 in the count, before Kelly made a mistake on the inner half.
¡°It felt good, battling against a tough pitcher,¡± Tatis said. ¡°I feel like I got that one.¡±