Fernando Tatis Jr. was the only Padre to make it to the next round of All-Star voting Sunday –and he placed among the top vote-getters in the game.
Tatis leads Javier Báez of the Chicago Cubs and Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants in the race to be the National League’s All-Star shortstop.
As far as overall votes, Tatis placed fifth – with just over 2 million votes –behind two other young bright lights in the game, Toronto Blue Jay Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Atlanta Brave Ronald Acuña Jr., along with Kansas City Royal Salvador Perez and superstar Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels.
Vote for Tatis and the other finalists, beginning at 9 a.m. Monday and continuing through 11 a.m. Thursday. Hours later, at 6 p.m. Thursday, MLB will reveal the American and National League starting teams on ESPN.
The game will be played July 13 at Coors Field in Denver.
The Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday, winning 5-4 on the strength of a three-run 7th inning, capped by Tatis’ double to drive in the winning run.
Tim Hill got the win, while Mark Melancon logged his 24th save. He continues to lead the majors in the category.
“Ultimately, you know, we’re just a more dangerous team when we’re getting those quality at-bats up and down the lineup,” manager Jayce Tingler said of the team’s 9-1 home stand.
Tatis had a thrilling weekend, beginning the series with a three home run performance in the Padres’ 11-5 win Friday. They dropped the middle game to Arizona 10-1, breaking their eight-game win streak. More importantly for the last-place D’backs, the team notched its first road win after 24 straight losses.
The Friars received unsettling news though about starter Dinelson Lamet, who has battled arm troubles since late last season. He was forced to leave Saturday’s game and the Padres put him on the 10-day injured list due to right forearm discomfort.
“The next couple of days, we’ll kind of wait and see how that forearm responds to some treatment,” Tingler said.
After an off day, the Pads travel to Cincinnati and Philadelphia. Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove take the mound in the first two games against the Reds. Each game in the three-game set begins at 4:10 p.m.