Even with the season having gone very very sour, Fernando Tatis Jr. remains capable of feats that are so so sweet.
He joined select company Thursday when he hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium in the Padres‘ 8-3 loss to the Dodgers. It’s a pretty exclusive club – Tatis is just the fifth man to have done it and the first since Giancarlo Stanton in 2015.
Tatis’ two-run homer, which bounced off the left-field pavilion, traveled 467 feet, MLB noted, but seemed to go farther. Even manager Jayce Tingler scoffed, saying nobody in the dugout was “buying that” estimate.
The homer, though the second longest of Tatis’ career, fell far short of the stadium record.
That’s been held by the late Hall of Famer Willie Stargell since 1969. That’s when the Pittsburgh Pirate became the first man to clear the stadium with a 506-foot knock to right field.
Tatis’ 42nd homer, in the 5th inning off Dodger starter Tony Gonsolin, enabled him to pass Phil Nevin for second on the Padres’ list of single-season leaders. Nevin hit 41 home runs two decades ago.
In addition, Tatis padded his National League lead in the category.
With the loss, the Padres were swept for the third straight series by the Dodgers, who emerged as the victor in their last nine games.
The Padres close the season against San Francisco – contests that matter to the Dodgers, who trail the first-place Giants by two games with three to play.
The Friars, though, after their September swoon, need a sweep to pull themselves back to .500 ball for the season. They will send Joe Musgrove to the mound Saturday, but have yet to name starters for Friday’s 6:45 p.m. game or Sunday’s 12:05 p.m. finale.