Fernando Tatis Jr. and his swagger returned to the playoffs with a blast Tuesday.
The San Diego star hit a towering two-run home run on his first playoff swing in four seasons to give the Padres a 2-0 lead on the way to beating rookie AJ Smith-Shawver and the Braves 4-0 in Game 1 of their National League Wild Card Series.
The shot traveled an estimated 415 feet into the second deck in left field and sent the towel-waving crowd of 47,647 at Petco Park into a frenzy. The dreadlocked Dominican, who has always played with flair, watched the ball sail away, tossed his bat aside, gestured toward the home dugout and did his signature stutter-step around third base.
“I (knew) it was gonna go out,” Tatis said of the long look he took at the ball. “I didn’t know it was gonna land on the second deck.”
Game 2 in the best-of-three playoff is at 5:38 p.m. Wednesday. If the Padres win the series, they’ll face their biggest rivals, the NL West champion Dodgers, in the NL Division Series.
The Padres eliminated the 111-win Dodgers in a 2022 NLDS.
Michael King was brilliant in becoming the first pitcher to have 12 strikeouts with no runs and no walks in his first career postseason start, prompting the crowd to chant his name late in his seven-inning outing. He joined Kevin Brown and Sterling Hitchcock as the only Padres pitchers with double-digit strikeout games in their playoff history while allowing five hits and walked none.
“Huge for me and my attack plan to have a two-run lead right after the first inning,” King said. “and also huge to get Tati going because he’s going to be a huge piece for us this postseason.”
Tatis homered on a 94 mph four-seamer from Smith-Shawyer, 21, one of the Braves’ top prospects who was making his first playoff start and just his second this season. Smith-Shawver allowed three runs and four hits in 1 1/3 innings.
The Padres were the only one of the four home teams to win Tuesday. The Mets beat the Brewers 8-4 in the other NL series, while in the American League, the Tigers beat the Astros 3-1 and the Royals downed the Orioles 1-0.
Luis Arraez, the NL batting champ, was aboard on a leadoff single for Tatis’ homer. Catcher Kyle Higashioka also homered, in the eighth, and had a sacrifice fly in the second. He is 3 for 30 against Atlanta, with three homers.
Tatis’ shot came on the anniversary of his two homers in 2020 in a Wild Card Series game against St. Louis. Mike Shildt, in his first season managing the Padres, was St. Louis’ skipper then.
“I love this type of situation,” he said of being part of the playoff atmosphere. “It definitely brings the best out of me. Man, just looking forward to way more experiences like this.”
Up next, Joe Musgrove (6-5, 3.88) takes on the Braves’ Max Fried (11-10, 3.25 ERA), a former minor leaguer for the Padres. The game will air on ESPN2.
Updated 9:25 p.m. Oct. 1, 2024
