Fernando Tatis Jr. is cementing a new reputation for himself in the Padre outfield.
The word should be out – don’t run on the transplanted shortstop, who now calls right field home.
Former Padre Manuel Margot did just that Sunday in the eighth inning and he paid for it, costing the Tampa Bay Rays the tying run as Tatis cut him down at the plate. An inning later the Padres emerged with a 5-4 win, their second victory of the weekend at Petco Park, to take the series from the team with the best record in baseball.
Bob Melvin wasn’t around to see it, as he had been kicked out of the game in the seventh after arguing a check-swing call. He could take heart, though, from a weekend that featured a lights-out performance from former Ray Blake Snell – he struck out 12 in Saturday’s 2-0 win – and a solid contribution from Joe Musgrove Sunday, who went six, and left the game leading 5-2.
The Friars also logged their third straight series win and are again on the cusp, at 35-36, of returning to .500.
“It’s nice to take a series from these guys, as well as they’ve played this year,” Melvin told MLB.com. “This game was a bit spirited down to the end. But we held on.”
Musgrove sees the win as perhaps a harbinger of things to come.
“I think we’re starting to click on all cylinders now, and coming in, taking two out of three against a team like that – it can really kickstart something,” he told MLB.
The Padres head to San Francisco for another lightning-quick trip and will send Michael Wacha to the mound in the opener of the four-game set on Monday. Tuesday’s starter is listed as TBD, with Yu Darvish and Blake Snell to follow.
