Tatis’ triple helps Padres win, move to 3-1
Fernando Tatis Jr. saw the ball rolling to the wall in left-center field and raced around the bases, diving headfirst into third as his helmet went flying off.
He stood up and thumped his chest with his right fist after clearing the bases, highlighting a fiverun rally that carried the San Diego Padres to a 6-2 victory over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
It’s the kind of exciting play the Padres have come to expect from their young shortstop, and it helped them take three of four games in their opening series.
Trent Grisham hit his first home run for the Padres, who outscored the Diamondbacks 21-9 in the four games.
“This is real big for us, the fact we got three out of four against Arizona,” the 21-year-old Tatis said. “It’s just a great start for us.”
San Diego, under rookie manager Jayce Tingler, believes it is built for success in this pandemic shortened 60- game season. The Padres haven’t been to the playoffs since winning consecutive National League West titles in 2005 and 2006. They haven’t had a winning season since 2010.
Keeping Tatis healthy will be a key. The son of a former major leaguer, he finished third in the NL rookie-of-the-year voting last year despite being limited to 84 games because of injuries.
The Padres scored five runs in the fourth inning before Luke Weaver recorded an out. The highlight was Tatis hitting a low liner that skipped past shortstop Nick Ahmed and rolled to the wall, bringing in three runs to give San Diego a 6-2 lead.
Cubs 8, at Reds 7: Anthony Rizzo hit his third home run of the season, and Chicago let most of a seven-run lead slip away before Jeremy Jeffress closed out a victory over a Cincinnati team coping with coronavirus uncertainty.
The Cubs arrived at a ballpark that had a brush with COVID-19. Reds infielder Matt Davidson went on the injured list Saturday after testing positive for the coronavirus, and teammates Mike Moustakas and Nick Senzel were sick a day later. Cincinnati was awaiting further results.
at Astros 8, Mariners 5: Alex Bregman hit his 100th career home run, a three-run shot, and Jose Altuve added a solo drive to help Houston defeat Seattle.
The Astros trailed by two in the third inning before Bregman’s first homer of the season put them ahead 4-3. Altuve, who had two runs batted in, connected in the fifth for the first of three runs to pad the lead and help Houston take three of four in the series.
Brewers 6, at Pirates 5, 11 innings: Ryan Braun’s two-run double tied the score in a four-run ninth inning for Milwaukee and Eric Sogard drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the 11th as the Brewers rallied past Pittsburgh.
at Rays 14, Braves 5: Hunter Renfroe homered twice and Tampa Bay pitchers set a team nine-inning record with 19 strikeouts in a romp over Atlanta.
Tyler Glasnow struck out nine and gave up one hit over four innings in his first start after missing part of summer camp with the Rays after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Mets 7, at Red Sox 4: Michael Conforto, Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith all homered, Michael Wacha pitched well over five innings, and New York beat Boston.
Wacha was a 22-year-old St. Louis rookie when he faced the Red Sox in the 2013 World Series, beating them in Game 2 before taking the loss in the deciding sixth game.
The right-hander, who signed with the Mets in the offseason, gave up just one run.
Blue Jays 4, at Nationals 1: Teoscar Hernandez hit two of Toronto’s four solo homers off Anibal Sanchez to account for all of the team’s runs in a victory over Washington.
Rowdy Tellez and Danny Jansen also went deep for the Blue Jays, who were without two key players. Closer Ken Giles went on the injured list, and shortstop Bo Bichette was scratched from the lineup with a tight left hamstring.
Royals 14, at Tigers 6: Maikel Franco hit two of Kansas City’s six home runs as it rolled to a victory that spoiled Detroit’s fan-free home opener.
Whit Merrifield had three hits and three RBIs, finishing a triple shy of the cycle on a night when the Royals rallied from a 5-1 deficit.
Orioles at Marlins, ppd.: Miami’s home opener against Baltimore was postponed after it was learned that more than a dozen Marlins players and staff members tested positive for the coronavirus in an outbreak that stranded the team in Philadelphia, where it played this past weekend. The game scheduled for Tuesday between Miami and Baltimore also was postponed.
Yankees at Phillies, ppd.: New York’s game at Philadelphia was postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak that hit the Marlins, who played in Philadelphia over the weekend. The Phillies were tested at their ballpark Monday while the Yankees stayed at their hotel.
White Sox at Indians, ppd.: The series opener between Chicago and Cleveland was postponed because of rain. The teams will make up the game as part of a traditional doubleheader Tuesday.