Tatis leads Padres to 6-4 victory over Mariners
Credit: Padres
Petco Park- San Diego, California
After putting up 16 runs on Friday night, there were concerns about an offensive hangover. On top of that, both Trent Grisham and Manny Machado were removed from the game for injury concerns. Grisham and Machado stayed out of the lineup on Saturday with minor injuries. A trip to the IL is unlikely.
The offense squashed all concerns about the potential hangover and injury setbacks. In fact, they showed that this offense is hot, despite missing three starters.
Jayce Tingler went with a bold move putting Tommy Pham at the top of the lineup. If this was any other season, that move would typically go unnoticed. That’s because Pham is a good on-base batter that occasionally shows some pop in his bat. This season is a whole different story. Coming into the game, he was slashing .195/.331/.579.
Tingler knows what he is doing with this move. A closer look into Pham’s stats shows that he has been heating up lately. In the last seven games, he is slashing .250/.429/.563. That move greatly paid off. In this game, he was 0-for-1 with four walks. After a very unusual off-season, he seems to have found his stride.
Another teammate who is hot is none other than Fernando Tatis Jr. Coming off the COVID IL he has been on fire. Saturday’s game was no exception. He was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk. His first hit in the fourth inning would have been an outfield single for most people. Tatis saw his ground ball was bringing Jarred Kelenic’s momentum away from second base. Tatis sped up and was able to beat a throw to second base. The shortstop was such a threat that in the fifth inning, they intentionally walked him to load the bases.
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Eric Hosmer took advantage of the situation. His manager had high praise after the game. “Hos steps up with a two-strike line drive to left. I love the way we ran the bases all year. I feel like last night, for whatever reason, it’s kinda woken up. I just thought guys were flying around the bases. The same thing tonight. When you get a base hit to left, Bobby has had some great decisions over there all year, being aggressive. Then Tatis just heads up, not only running fast. Your eyes are up. As soon as you see the ball get by before coach can say “go go go,” they already have two steps,” Tingler said.
To sprinkle some context to the play, off the bat Pham and Profar were able to score. The throw home got passed catcher Tom Murphy. Tatis then bolted home, displaying great instincts.
Right after that, Austin Nola drove in Hosmer to make it a five-run 5th inning. Nola was also a great player to highlight from this game. He went 1-for-2 with two walks this game. The team as a whole had nine walks and seven strikeouts. Manny Machado presented Nola with a chain after the game that was blinged out.
Just when the Padres couldn’t get any cooler…they bring out the chain. pic.twitter.com/LZfiD94kUJ
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) May 23, 2021
On the mound for the Padres was the duo of Ryan Weathers and Dinelson Lamet. Both are recovering from injuries and are building up strength. Weathers took the first leg and put in four innings of work. It wasn’t the best outing for him. He allowed six hits, one earned run, two walks, and two strikeouts. Lamet, on the other hand, looked dominant in his three innings. He struck out five while the Mariners only got two hits and an unearned run on him.
In the 9th, Austin Adams was supposed to end the game in a non-save situation. He quickly got in some hot water after allowing a run. At that point, Mark Melancon came into the game in a non-save situation. He was his usual dominant self and maintained his streak of completed saves for the Padres. The Friars look for another sweep on Sunday against the M’s.
Evan is a student finishing up a degree in Finance from Northern Arizona University. The ability to break down numbers and find the story behind them has lead to his first of writing for East Village times. He covers baseball which is the sport he grew up playing and has followed even after his playing years.
