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Fernando Tatis Jr. ends longest drought of career with HR vs. Mariners
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- Fernando Tatis Jr. ends longest drought of career with HR vs. Mariners
Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
The post Fernando Tatis Jr. ends longest drought of career with HR vs. Mariners appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The San Diego Padres moved into first place in the NL West after winning two of three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers . San Diego entered Monday's series opener against the Seattle Mariners tied with LA for the division lead. And Padres fans got a welcomed sight early in the interleague matchup.
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Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run homer in the second inning, giving San Diego a 4-1 lead. The big fly ended the longest home run drought of Tatis' career, per 97.3 The Fan SD's Sammy Levitt. The Padres' right fielder hadn't gone deep since July 24.
The Mariners took the lead early when Cal Raleigh mashed his MLB-leading 50th homer of the season in the first inning. But San Diego answered back with three bombs in the top of the second. Gavin Sheets , Jake Cronenworth and Tatis all left the yard in the inning.
Fernando Tatis Jr. powers Padres early
Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Tatis had gone 128 plate appearances without a dinger prior to his slump-buster on Monday. While he slugged just .363 in that span, the three-time All-Star was still a big part of San Diego's offense. Tatis had a .406 on-base percentage with 11 doubles and 21 runs scored in the 27-game homer-less stretch.
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And the Padres' Gold Glove outfielder contributed with spectacular defense as well. San Diego went 19-8 during Tatis' drought, climbing up from six games back in the NL West to a tie for first in the division.
Tatis is now up to 18 home runs and 54 RBI on the season. He's also racked up 5.4 bWAR in 128 games. That's the second-most of his career, behind only his outlier 42-homer campaign in 2021.
Ramon Laureano added to the Padres' power surge, hitting the team's fourth home run of the game in the seventh inning. However, the Mariners battled back thanks to a four-RBI game from Jorge Polanco . Seattle took a 9-5 lead into the eighth inning.
Related: Cal Raleigh joins Mickey Mantle in historic switch-hitter MLB club
Related: Brewers players texted Ryan O'Hearn about Milwaukee's 'good' trade offer before Padres deal
