TATIS EXPECTED TO RETURN TODAY
As Sunday’s eighth inning ended, Fernando Tatis Jr. was on the top step of the dugout with a helmet in his hands.
Had Mark Melancon not closed out the Padres’ 3-2 victory over the Reds, Tatis would have hit in the pitcher’s spot in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“I’m glad we didn’t have to use him,” manager Jayce Tingler said.
That Tatis was available was the real development.
Asked if that meant the star shortstop would play against the Dodgers, Tingler responded, “Yeah.”
Later, he said Tatis will play today “unless things drastically change and we take a step back.”
Tatis left Saturday’s game in the fifth inning after jarring his left shoulder diving to try to stop a single. The Padres termed his removal precautionary at the time and said his prognosis was nowhere near as bad as when he was placed on the 10-day injured list after dislocating the shoulder in early April.
Filling in nicely
Ha-seong Kim, whose two-run homer was the difference in the Padres’ 7-5 victory Saturday night, started in place of Tatis on Sunday. Kim went 1-for-3 with a walk and made several plays, including the game-ending out on a catch over his shoulder while running back in center field.
“He was great,” Tingler said. “So good. You saw bullets hit at him, you saw him make his routine plays, you saw him in the ninth, pressure play... fly ball into the sun (in the) Bermuda Triangle area. … I’ve seen him play good defense all year, but today he was tested in a lot of areas and passed every test.”
Kim entered Sunday with a team-leading 10 defensive runs saved, a total that includes five DRS at shortstop, three at second base and two at third base.
Reliever reinforcements
The Padres have a need for fresh arms in their bullpen and a desire to find out what they might have in their bullpen, so they called up two new relief pitchers Sunday.
Mason Thompson and Nick Ramirez were the third and fourth relievers to join the team this week. When the hard-throwing Thompson pitches, it will be his major league debut. Ramirez, a left-hander, has made seven appearances for the Padres this season.
The day after lefty Daniel Camarena made his major league debut, he was sent back to Triple-A El Paso along with James Norwood, who made two appearances since his recall on Wednesday.
The Padres are exploring how to improve their rotation, bench and bullpen in advance of the July 30 trade deadline.
Another reliever has been throwing at Petco Park this week. Left-hander Matt Strahm is working back from patellar tendon surgery with the hope he can join them shortly after next month’s All-Star break
Also Sunday, lefty Drew Pomeranz threw his second bullpen session in four days. The next step could be a live batting practice before a rehab assignment as he works back from a lat strain.