Miguel Andujar pulled a fastball into the seats.
Manny Machado did the same to a cut fastball.
May it prove contagious.
Fernando Tatis Jr. has gifted many Padres fans in those areas with home run balls in his career.
So far in this young season, the homerless righty slugger has been pulling the ball much less and not with his customary loft that sends balls over walls.
Sunday afternoon, Tatis was able to relax and take in the Miggy-Manny home run show that contributed to the Padres’ 4-3, sweep-depriving win over the White Sox before the team’s 15th sellout crowd in 19 home dates.
Manager Craig Stammen didn’t start Tatis, saying his decision was solely to rest the 27-year-old physically, as he did on April 15.
The power display looked almost effortless.
Andujar drove lefty starter Anthony Kay’s 95 mph sinker an estimated 407 feet for his second home run.
Cleanup man Machado hit his fifth home run nearly as far, moving the Padres to a 2-1 lead.
“We saw what he was doing, what he wanted to do,” Machado said of Kay, who pitched in Japan the last two years, of the midgame outburst.
Tatis has hit dozens of similar pull-shot home runs in his career.
This year, he’s pulling the ball far less.
While he has ranked among major league hitters at putting hard drives into play, the decline in pull-side power has contributed to his career-long homer drought of 139 plate appearances to begin this year.
Tatis has taken a pronounced inside-out approach that has resulted in more batted balls to the opposite field.
Hitters and hitting coaches often say that opposite-field hitting can lead to better overall hitting.
And on Friday, Tatis tripled down the right-field line to end his career-long drought of 15 games without an extra-base hit.
So Tatis, along with the hard-hit frequency, is picking up opposite-field hits.
Stammen said Tatis was ready to bat as a pinch-hitter Sunday.
When asked if the decision not to start him may have been in part to give him a mental breather, Stammen said that wasn’t the case.
“Mentally, this guy, he’s tougher than nails,” said the former reliever, whose own mental game drew praise from managers. “He’s got to deal with a lot. All the attention and the expectations. And he handles it really well. These days off, they’re all physical in my mind.
“I trust how these guys’ minds are,” Stammen continued. “We’re talking every day. They’re smiling and laughing. Those are all good things. They’re working hard every day, and that’s part of it.”
Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres celebrates with Jackson Merrill #3 after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Petco Park on May 3, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Padres didn’t play Thursday, the day after they finished a three-game home set with the Cubs.
Stammen took into account the three-city, two-country road trip that led into this six-game homestand. The final five games were played in high-altitude locales: Denver and Mexico City.
“He’s playing right field, second base, running a lot over the field,” he said of Tatis. “It’s just good to give him a physical day off where he can refresh himself and get ready to have a good series in San Francisco.”
As manager of the Padres, Bruce Bochy would sometimes go to extra lengths to ensure an occasional full game off for an everyday player. A day or perhaps two earlier, Bochy would tell some players he wouldn’t start them or even use them as pinch-hitters because he wanted them to get the full mental benefit of not preparing to play. Other times, Bochy — a former catcher — would limit them to a bench role.
Mental strength and savvy are relative strengths of this veteran-laden Padres team.
One example is that late in games, their hitters see more opportunities for walks.
Leading to the run that stood as the winner Sunday, No. 1 hitter Ramón Laureano led off with a five-pitch walk in the eighth inning and came around to break the 3-3 tie.
The Padres’ best walk rate and walk total come in the eighth inning.
They also draw more walks in the ninth, home to their best on-base rate (.374) and slugging percentage (.515).
Keep this in mind: the Padres weren’t stacking masterpieces last year, yet ended up with 90 wins and another wild-card playoff berth.
The team’s 20-13 record, on the other hand, is easy on the eyes.
And if Tatis finds his power stroke to add to his Grade-A right-field defense, the picture clicks into something much closer to full focus.