After nearly two months, Fernando Tatis Jr. is finally on the board with his first home run of the season.
In the fifth inning of the Padres’ 9-4 loss to the Nationals, Tatis blasted a towering 451-foot solo homer to left field at Nationals Park to break his harrowing streak without a home run that dated back to last season.
Before Saturday’s game, the Padres outfielder had not gone deep in 240 plate appearances, which was the longest home run drought in the MLB.
“I just knew right away,” Tatis told reporters following the game, according to The Associated Press. “About f–king time.”
Upon hitting the homer, Tatis flipped his bat and got a warm welcome from his teammates as he rounded third base.
“It was very exciting for everybody,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “He’s been carrying that burden. The team has been carrying that burden.”
The last time Tatis had hit a home run was a game against Arizona on Sept. 27.
“Bet you he’ll sleep a little better tonight, knowing that he has a little ‘one’ on his numbers. He has a lot in his career, but it’s different,” San Diego shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. “Everyone knows what the deal is here.
“Everyone knows he has zero, so I think getting that kind of pressure off his back is nice.”
Despite Tatis’ blast, the Padres gave up six runs to Washington in the seventh for their 25th loss of the season.
“There’s no off days over here, man,” Tatis said. “This game will find a way how to still punish you.”
Tatis’ numbers have taken a significant hit so far this season because of his home run drought.
Despite holding a .268 batting average going into Saturday’s game, the three-time All-Star was slugging just .307 across 55 games played.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
