Tatis hits 3 HRs, Pads hand D-Backs 24th straight road loss

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Hours after saying he would skip the All-Star Home Derby next month, Fernando Tatis Jr. put on his own personal power show.

Tatis hit three homers, energizing Petco Park with the most dynamic performance of his short but spectacular career, as the San Diego Padres sent the Arizona Diamondbacks to their record 24th straight road loss, 11-5 Friday night.

“I have always wanted to hit three or four home runs in a game since I was a kid," he said after leading the Padres to their eighth win in a row. “I’m glad today I did that.”

Tatis hammered a changeup from Corbin Martin over the left-center wall for a solo home run in the first inning. Tatis connected again in the second for another solo shot on an 80 mph curve from Riley Smith.

In Tatis’ third at-bat, also against Smith, he hit a 415-foot, two-run smash to dead center to put the Padres up 8-5.

The 22-year-old shortstop got two more chances at becoming the 19th player to share the record of four homers in a game.

With the crowd standing and chanting, Tatis hit a sharp single in the seventh inning and then grounded out in the eighth.

“They did a pretty good job on me in the last two at-bats. They handled me, nothing you can do with that. I felt like I missed one pitch and could have hit it out again," he said.

This was the first three-homer game of Tatis’ career. The last player to hit four in a game was J.D. Martinez, doing it for the Diamondbacks on Sept. 4, 2017, against the Dodgers.

Tatis is tied with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of Toronto for the major league lead with 25 home runs. Guerrero also says he won’t take part in the All-Star Home Run Derby that will be held at Denver’s Coors Field on July 12.

In saying he was out of the competition, Tatis cited his left shoulder, which he said is at 75%...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Tatis-hits-3-HRs-Pads-hand-D-Backs-24th-straight-16275906.php