Fernando Tatis Jr.
San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. doubles to left field against the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 2, 2019 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

Fernando Tatis Jr. extended his hit streak to 13 games Friday with a 3rd-inning RBI double that drove in two for the San Diego Padres.

The Padres, at home at Petco Park, went on to defeat the Colorado Rockies 7-1.

It’s just the latest in a hot stretch for Tatis, in which the rookie has hit impressively, while making dazzling plays in the field. In his last 15 games, he’s hit .328 with 21 hits, 6 home runs and 13 RBIs.

The team is eagerly awaiting next week, according to MLB.com, when their young star will have enough at-bats to be ranked among the league leaders in average, on-base percentage and slugging.

Though he has been hot all season, Tatis didn’t qualify because of more than a month lost to the injured list in April due to a hamstring strain.

The Padres also have pointed to odd, yet eye-popping stats for the phenom:

  • So far, he has hit the most homers in a season, 22, for a shortstop in Major League history who has yet to turn 21.
  • In the last 120 years, only Tatis and Atlanta Brave Ronald Acuna Jr. have hit six leadoff home runs in their first 79 games.
  • This week he became the first Padre since Roberto Alomar more than 30 years ago to have 100 hits before turning 21.

“He’s good,” Padre manager Andy Green said, understating the case to MLB.com.

The home stand continues through Wednesday. The Padres play two more against the Rockies, then host the Tampa Bay Rays in inter-league action.

In other Padre developments, the team promptly returned left-hander Jose Castillo to the 10-day IL on Friday with a strained finger on his pitching hand. He had just left the 60-day list on Thursday. They also placed rookie Adrian Morejon on the 10-day list with a shoulder injury.

The team noted a poignant anniversary this week  as well – 20 years ago, on Aug. 6, 1999, the late Hall-of-Famer Tony Gywnn logged his 3,000th hit on the road against the former Montreal Expos.

– Staff reports