The San Diego Padres made it a perfect home stand Sunday, winning their ninth game in a row 9-2 over the Seattle Mariners.
Fernando Tatis Jr. powered the team to its third straight series sweep – they also dragged out the brooms at Petco Park for the St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rockies – with a six-RBI day.
His big blow, a grand slam, came in the 7th inning, when he hit a no-doubt-about-it shot to center off Robert Dugger.
“Got a good pitch, and I just put the barrel on it,” Tatis told MLB.com. “It’s as simple as that.”
It was his second homer of the game, following a blast, also to center, in the 2nd.
Tatis has been on fire since his return from the injured list after testing positive for COVID-19. In his last four games, he’s gone 11-for-14, hitting four homers and driving in 12 runs. His batting average has jumped to .309.
Yu Darvish earned the win to improve to 5-1 as the Padres recorded their best home stand since 2009, according to MLB.com.
Wil Myers, the other Padre whose COVID test returned positive, was back in the lineup Sunday. He had a walk and an RBI in two at-bats.
Myers is the last of the players to return after either testing positive or sitting out due to contact tracing.
The Padres, who hold a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, begin a four-game series in Milwaukee at 4:40 p.m. Monday. Blake Snell gets the start.
They also will see the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs on the 10-game road trip.
