Fernando Tatis Jr. hits 2-run homer as San Diego Padres beat Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0
By RICHARD J. MARCUS
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. capped San Diego’s four-run eighth inning with a two-run homer, and the Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 on Friday night.
“Man, about time one of those goes out,” Tatis said of his homer, which included an emphatic bat-flip after he hit it. “These days, I don’t know if they are going out or not.”
San Diego won for the third time in four games, improving to 3-2 on a 10-game homestand. The Padres (59-64) need a strong finish and some help to rally to an NL wild-card spot.
Robert Suarez (2-2) got three outs for the win, and Josh Hader struck out the side in the ninth.
Diamondbacks rookie Brandon Pfaadt pitched seven crisp innings. He struck out five and walked three.
“The starter today was making good pitches,” Tatis said of Pfaadt. “I feel like we also put some good swings out there but we just didn’t get the end results….We stayed it in, we kept battling.”
Pfaadt was working on a no-hitter before Juan Soto doubled with one out in the seventh. The right-hander remains winless in 12 career starts.
Gabriel Moreno had two of Arizona’s six hits. The Diamondbacks (62-61) had won three in a row and five of six overall.
After Pfaadt departed, the Padres broke through against Miguel Castro. With runners at second and third after Trent Grisham’s sacrifice, Ha-Seong Kim punched a two-run single through a drawn-in Arizona infield.
“I just tried to make solid contact,” Kim said through a translator. “That happened to get the result.”
Tatis then hit a 419-foot drive to center for his 20th homer, giving San Diego a 4-0 lead.
“I know it pumped the fans up to finally be able to come away and get one like that,” San Diego manager Bob Melvin said of the dramatic late win. “Their guy (Pfaadt) pitched really good. … He was legit tonight. Obviously, it took us a while to get some runs.”
The Padres also got a solid performance from Seth Lugo, who struck out nine in six innings. The right-hander allowed five hits and walked three.
“Him getting through six (innings) for us was big,” Melvin said.
The Diamondbacks went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base.
WEATHER CONCERNS
Concerned about Hurricane Hilary, which is expected to be a tropical storm when it approaches Southern California on Sunday, Major League Baseball opted to reschedule the series finale between the Diamondbacks and Padres. The teams will play a split-doubleheader on Saturday instead….”It’s like you dream of as a kid – to be on the field all day,” Tatis said of the doubleheader.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: 3B Manny Machado served as the designated hitter because of a minor right elbow issue. He went 0 for 1 with three walks. Melvin said Machado will probably play in the field in the second game on Saturday.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: RHP Merrill Kelly (9-5, 3.05 ERA) will take the mound in the opening game of Saturday’s doubleheader. The starter for the nightcap has not been announced.
Padres: San Diego hasn’t announced its starter for the first game. RHP Yu Darvish (8-8, 4.24 ERA) takes the mound for the second game.
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