The San Diego Padres (9-7) might need to look into adding virtual “MVP” chants when Fernando Tatis Jr. steps up to the plate.
The 21-year-old has homered in four straight games. He smashed four home runs in their three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks and is now tied for the MLB lead with eight.
He led off the bottom of the first with a home run on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, he hit his second homer in the eighth inning. He also hit one to the second deck during the second inning on Sunday.
.@tatis_jr is UNREAL. pic.twitter.com/1O6KHXDM2H
— MLB (@MLB) August 9, 2020
Tatis Jr. is hitting .333 with 18 RBI and 18 runs scored.
All 14 of the Padres’ runs in the series came from the long ball, including a Petco Park record six home runs in their 9-5 win on Sunday. It’s only the third time in MLB history that a team scored all of their runs from home runs in a single series.
The Padres lead MLB in home runs with 29.
Five players went yard on Sunday. Manny Machado hit two and Tatis, Wil Myers, Francisco Mejía, and Ty France each hit one.
From sweet to swag. pic.twitter.com/gIi2mUQZZi
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 9, 2020
The Padres chased Madison Bumgarner out of the game early after he gave up six earned runs on five hits and one walk in two innings pitched. He also allowed four home runs.
Dinelson Lamet took advantage of the offensive output as he had a no-hitter through six innings before Kole Calhoun hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh. Lamet threw 6.2 innings with a season-high 11 strikeouts on one hit and one earned run. Lamet has allowed just one run in each of his four starts this season. He has a team-best 1.61 ERA along with 28 strikeouts and a 0.85 WHIP in 22.1 innings pitched.
Padres No. 3 prospect Luis Patiño relieved Lamet on Sunday for his second career outing. He gave up a single to Jake Lamb before striking out Andy Young to end the seventh. He allowed two earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched with three strikeouts and four runs. He walked the bases loaded in the eighth but didn’t allow a run. He got one out in the ninth before a walk and a two-run home run.
The Padres will travel down I-5 to Los Angeles for a four-game series against the Dodgers (11-5) starting Monday. Last week, the Padres dropped two of three against the rival Dodgers at Petco Park. They will send Garrett Richards to the mound on Monday to face Dustin May. Richards is 0-1 this season with a 4.60 ERA. He allowed four runs over five innings in his previous outing against the Dodgers.
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