Tatis hits 39th HR, Padres beat Giants 7-4 to gain on Cards

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his NL-leading 39th home run and the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 7-4 on Thursday to earn a series split.

The Padres moved within half a game of the idle Cardinals for the second NL wild card at 76-70. San Diego starts a three-game series in St. Louis on Friday.

Tatis also singled and walked twice a day after matching a career best with four hits. Tommy Pham and Manny Machado each drove in two runs, and Adam Frazier and Austin Nola had three hits apiece.

“It feels good, especially the way we played the last couple of days,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said. "Pitchers have been huge and, obviously, you’ve seen the shift offensively.”

Evan Longoria homered for the NL West-leading Giants, whose lead over the Dodgers dropped to a game. Los Angeles was off Thursday.

Nabil Crismatt (3-1) pitched four scoreless innings in relief to earn the win in a bullpen game for the Padres.

“He’s been kind of the secret guy at the back end that just continues to get the job done,” Tingler said. “Four innings against a really good lineup. He gave us exactly what we needed.”

Added Crismatt: "I’ve been feeling really well with all of my pitches right now. I feel really confident and just go out there and compete and have fun.”

Giants starter Kevin Gausman (14-6) lost for the first time since July 30, allowing four earned runs on eight hits in five innings.

“The Padres are swinging the bats very well the last couple of days,” San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler said. “I think we can chalk it up to kind of running into the best version of them.”

Trent Grisham gave San Diego an early lead when he drove in Frazier on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Tatis homered to left in the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Tatis-hits-39th-HR-Padres-beat-Giants-7-4-to-16465784.php