{"id":431408,"date":"2026-08-13T04:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T04:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/431408\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T04:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T04:20:08","slug":"tom-krasovic-fernando-tatis-jr-shows-shades-of-rickey-henderson-in-comeback-win-over-brewers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/431408\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Krasovic: Fernando Tatis Jr. shows shades of Rickey Henderson in comeback win over Brewers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A smiling Fernando Tatis Jr. asked reporters why they wanted to talk to him Wednesday, the Padres having just won a 4-3 thriller in 11 innings that swept the Major League Baseball-leading Brewers.<\/a><\/p>\n

Tatis noted that he\u2019d spent most of the game on the bench, catching up on his rest, a scarce commodity these days for the whole team.<\/p>\n

Call him Fernando the Super Sub on this day \u2014 and because of him, the Padres were able to outlast the Brewers and vault two teams to land on the second spot in the wild-card race.<\/p>\n

Tatis triggered a sequence that tied the game in the eighth inning. Brewers manager Pat Murphy singled out Tatis scoring from second base on a grounder to first base as the most pivotal episode of a game stuffed with crucial details.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always fun to be a part of a win like that,\u201d Tatis said. \u201cSo glad to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

-Jake Cronenworth wins the race to 1B
-Fernando Tatis Jr. scores from 2B<\/p>\n

The @Padres<\/a> tie the game in the 8th! pic.twitter.com\/11H7li4lAg<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MLB (@MLB) August 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Tatis called to mind Rickey Henderson by using his power threat, speed and savvy to tie the game after manager Craig Stammen inserted him with two outs and the bases empty to bat for No. 9 hitter Freddy Fermin.<\/p>\n

The Brewers huddled around reliever Chad Patrick to prepare for Tatis.<\/p>\n

They surely noted that Tatis posed a much greater home run threat than Luis Renfigo on deck and Jake Cronenworth in the hole.<\/p>\n

So it seemed Patrick might pitch around Tatis, whose home run in the prior game was his seventh since the All-Star break.<\/p>\n

Tatis, reading the moment well in just his third pinch-hitting appearance this year, earned a four-pitch walk.<\/p>\n

It was a crucial breakthrough.<\/p>\n

He denied the Brewers an out they were desperate for their middle reliever to get after he\u2019d just coaxed a double-play grounder out of Xander Bogaerts.<\/p>\n

Turning up the heat further, Tatis stole second base.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t one of the many stat-stuffing stolen bases that have proliferated in this era.<\/p>\n

Tatis dealt with Patrick throwing over twice, and catcher Gary S\u00e1nchez snapping off a pickoff throw.<\/p>\n

Rengifo went on to win his own duel, earning a tough walk.<\/p>\n

And Cronenworth, fouling off pitches against lefty Aaron Ashby, did well to stave off a strikeout before hitting a soft bounder to first baseman Jake Bauers.<\/p>\n

As Cronenworth beat Ashby to first base by a few inches, beating Bauer\u2019s underhanded toss and keeping the inning alive, Tatis alertly scored the tying run.<\/p>\n

This was a \u201cFernando Run,\u201d from the same genre as the \u201cRickey Runs\u201d that the late Henderson authored throughout his Hall of Fame career as a power-and-speed igniter.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust being aggressive,\u201d Tatis said of his sprint to home.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, that was going to be a close play at first. The first baseman is straight looking at me, and just straight throwing home, but I saw the play was going to unfold at first base, and I just went for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy said Ashby was a tad late getting to the bag, a problem for him this year.<\/p>\n

The pitcher, a nephew of former Padres pitcher Andy Ashby, said he could\u2019ve reached first base faster than he did, but also noted that his delivery had taken him toward third base.<\/p>\n

Bauers said that he probably should have thrown home rather than to Ashby.<\/p>\n

Bauers said he was mindful that Tatis was capable of scoring from second base on a ground ball to an infielder. He realized once he flipped the ball toward Ashby that throwing home would have been a better choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s baseball,\u201d Bauers said. \u201cStuff happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tatis wasn\u2019t the only B-squad standout for the Padres.<\/p>\n

Luis Campusano, who entered as the catcher in the ninth inning, threw out a base stealer at third base and drove home the winning run with a two-out single.<\/p>\n

Pinch-runner Sung-Mun Song scored that winner with a deft headfirst slide, denying Sanchez\u2019s tag attempt after a good (but high) throw from rookie right fielder Luis Lara one play after Lara denied Jackson Merrill\u2019s a game-winning extra-base hit.<\/p>\n

Song stole second base after Stammen, capping his own sharp performance across the nearly four-hour game, had him run for Ty France.<\/p>\n

So it goes for the Padres, who went 5-1 on the homestand by overcoming a pair of division leaders in the Astros and Brewers.<\/p>\n

The Padres also beat fatigue, closing out a stretch of 26 games in 27 days with a win the Brewers badly wanted in their attempts to hold off the Cubs.<\/p>\n

Murphy, noting Stammen\u2019s killer bullpen and other Padres strengths, called San Diego the \u201chottest team in baseball,\u201d saying the Padres could cause ripples in October if they can earn a fourth wild card in five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have come together as a ballclub, as a team, and that\u2019s what is needed,\u201d Tatis said. \u201cA sweep against a team like this, it keeps boosting our confidence all the way up. So we better keep it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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