Robbie Ray pitched six innings for the first time with the Padres. Manny Machado homered for the first time in 21 games. Adrian Morej\u00f3n and Mason Miller did what they do so reliably.<\/p>\n
But the story\u00a0 centered on Tatis and what he did to \u2014 despite all those other contributions \u2014 almost singlehandedly lift the Padres to victory.<\/p>\n
He represented a seven-run shift.<\/p>\n
Tatis homered on the first pitch of the game and hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning.<\/p>\n
In between, he made what might not be the best of his eight career home run robberies but what was inarguably the biggest and the most dramatic when he took away a grand slam from Francisco Lindor.<\/p>\n
Fernando Tatis Jr robs Francisco Lindor of a grand slam. <\/p>\n
His reaction is ice cold. Can\u2019t be mad at it pic.twitter.com\/j2oUrzWCsi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Master Flip | Phillip Feliz \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4 (@Masterflip_) August 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a baseball lover,\u201d Jackson Merrill said. \u201cAnytime someone does something cool, it\u2019s cool to see. That was one of the cooler moments. Taking away a grand slam. Especially with Lindor at the plate. Big guy, big name. That\u2019s \u2018Tati,\u2019 bro. He\u2019s him. Big game too . Every game now is huge for us.\u201d<\/p>\n That is the thing.<\/p>\n Big moments are bigger in New York.<\/p>\n Moreover, they are bigger in big games.<\/p>\n Padres manager Craig Stammen, who was a relief pitcher for the Padres when Tatis made his MLB debut in 2019, assessed last night to be \u201cup there as one of the most impactful games he\u2019s had as a Padre.\u201d<\/p>\n Hmmm.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a minute to think about that:<\/p>\n It is difficult to beat Game 2 of the 2020 National League Wild Card Series against the Cardinals. With the Padres facing elimination and trailing 6-2 in the sixth inning, Tatis hit a three-run homer to get them within a run, and Manny Machado followed him to the plate and tied the game with a solo homer. Tatis\u2019 next time up, three batters after a Wil Myers homer gave the Padres the lead, Tatis hit a two-run homer. The Padres won 11-9 and the next day, in \u201cThe Stammen Game,\u201d won their first playoff series since 1998. I probably missed one or two of his most impactful games.<\/p>\n But that was a good trip down memory lane. And it matters most because Merrill is correct. Tatis is \u201chim\u201d again.<\/p>\n And why is it important that Tatis is back to being Tatis? Well, besides the pure entertainment factor, most championship-caliber teams are star powered.<\/p>\n The \u201ccomplete team win\u201d is the ideal. Fact is, the Dodgers win a lot of games because Shohei Ohtani wills it. (Or sometimes Freddie Freeman or Mookie Betts.)<\/p>\n We began to talk here a few weeks ago about the moments Tatis was once again creating.<\/p>\n He is clearly feeling it.<\/p>\n The way he played the moment after the robbery last night\u00a0 was as swaggy as it gets.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just happened, man,\u201d he said of his stone-faced pose with the ball while much of the crowd at Citi Field held its breath wondering if he had actually caught the ball. \u201cYou can\u2019t plan that, or you can\u2019t be thinking about that during the game. Just the situation itself, where we\u2019re at and making that catch is, it just comes out in moments like that.\u201d<\/p>\n After the game, Tatis posted on X for the first time since March:<\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/ENlFxrCod7<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Fernando Tatis Jr. (@tatis_jr) August 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n For the Padres, it is a gigantic boost that a superstar is once again being a superstar.<\/p>\n \u201cConsistency,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s (everything) in this game. That\u2019s where you separate yourself from the common group. And when I\u2019m able to do stuff like that, and on a more consistent basis, I can definitely help a team to be a big part to win ballgames.\u201d<\/p>\n Tatis\u2019 two home runs last night gave him 10 in his past 29 games. His 1.008 OPS<\/a> leads the major leagues in that span.<\/p>\n Remember where he was on May 23.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just been a continuation of him not trying to be a certain type of baseball player, but just to be a great baseball player and impact the game in any way that he can,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cAnd I think he feels like he has so many tools in his tool bag that he can find a way to create some havoc or take away runs or do something good for the Padres in any aspect of the game. And he can do that with his speed. He can do that with defense. He can certainly do it with his bat.\u201d<\/p>\n Bangers<\/p>\n Tatis is getting a lot of bang from his bombs, too.<\/p>\n His 15 home runs are the fewest he has had through 125 games in any of the five seasons he has played that many games. And, in fact, he hit 21 homers in 102 games in 2024, 22 homers in 84 games in 2019 and 17 homers in 59 games in 2020.<\/p>\n There are 93 players in the major leagues with more home runs than Tatis this season.<\/p>\n But none have hit as many balls as far.<\/p>\n Tatis\u2019 452-foot blast to the second deck at Citi Field on the first pitch of last night\u2019s game was his fourth home run projected to have traveled at least 450 feet.<\/p>\n Nando wastes no time. pic.twitter.com\/vq6ZK4XHIM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n That is one more than the Phillies\u2019 Kyle Schwarber, whose 37 home runs lead the major leagues, and the Rays\u2019 Junior Caminero, who has 35 home runs.<\/p>\n Tatis\u2019 474-foot homer on July 21 in Arizona is the longest in the major leagues this year.<\/p>\n Reliability, durability<\/p>\n Padres starting pitchers have thrown six innings in three consecutive games for the first time this season.<\/p>\n Ray\u2019s outing last night was just the 31st time this season a Padres starter has gone at least six innings in a game, more than only the Rockies (25). It was the seventh time in the past 10 games, a Padres starter went that deep in a game after doing so just three times in their previous 25 games.<\/p>\n That represents, as much as anything, the difference in the outlook for the team after acquiring Ray and Casey Mize at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n And that difference was illustrated ted by Stammen being able to trust Ray to go back out for the sixth last night in a game the Padres led by two runs when he has so often not done so this season.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to give you six innings,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cThat\u2019s just what he does. He\u2019s a very experienced, tough, competitive person and pitcher, and he fits right into our team.\u201d<\/p>\n After a shaky five innings in his Padres debut and a resilient four innings in his next start, Ray had a fairly typical Ray outing last night in that he navigated a good bit of traffic and got deeper in the game.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s kind of how he does it,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cHe chucks the ball. He\u2019ll walk a few here and there, but he knows how to get out of jams. He knows how to pitch. He\u2019s going to give you six innings. That\u2019s just what he does. He\u2019s a very experienced, tough, competitive person and pitcher.\u201d<\/p>\n Ray\u2019s 1.82 ERA over his past 11 games is fourth best in the major leagues in that span. His 3.73 FIP<\/a> ranks 33rd among 65 qualifying<\/a> starters in that time, which is illustrative of a 12.1% walk rate that is third highest.<\/p>\n He makes the big pitches far more often than not.<\/p>\n The Mets were hitless in seven at-bats with men on base last night. Ray is holding opponents to a .188 average with runners on this season, fourth best in MLB. Opponent\u2019s .173 average with runners in scoring position against Ray is seventh best.<\/p>\n Perhaps his finest escape last night was when he retired the Mets\u2019 3-4-5 hitters after a leadoff double by Bo Bichette in the third inning.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been in this game a while,\u201d said Ray, who won the American League Cy Young award in 2021 with the Blue Jays. \u201cI\u2019ve been through a lot of circumstances and been able to get out of them for most of my career, so I think it\u2019s just experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, one of those fruitless at-bats by the Mets came with the bases loaded.<\/p>\n
\nOn Aug. 17, 2020, Tatis lit a torch to the unwritten rule book when he sent a 3-0 pitch from Juan Nicasio over the right field wall for a grand slam in a game in Texas the Padres already led by seven runs. It was his second home run of the game, and it set off something of a debate in the game about the \u201cunwritten rules.\u201d And we haven\u2019t heard all that much about them since.
\nTatis singlehandedly created the deciding run in a 2-1 victory in Pittsburgh on May 5, 2025. Tatis led off the ninth inning with a double, stole third base and scored on a passed ball that got barely six feet from the catcher.
\nThe two-homer game in a 10-2 victory over the Dodgers in the \u201824 NL Division Series was big. Even though it was a rout, Tatis hit a home run in the first inning that got the Padres rolling. He also doubled, was hit by a pitch and scored, and he capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the ninth. And it was against the Dodgers.
\nIn the second game of what would end up being a five-homer series at Dodger Stadium in April 2021, Tatis broke a 1-1 tie with a homer, extended the lead to 3-1 with a homer and drove in the final run in a 6-1 victory with an RBI single. Part of what makes this performance so special is how special it was to Tatis, coming as it did on April 23, the 22nd anniversary of his father hitting two grand slams in the same inning in the same ballpark.
\nThe only three-homer game of Tatis\u2019 career came in an 11-5 victory over the Diamondbacks on June 25, 2021. His first home run put the Padres up 1-0 in the first inning. He extended their lead with another solo shot in the second. After the Diamondbacks had fought back to 6-5, Tatis hit a two-run homer in the fourth. He also singled and scored in the seventh.
\nSix RBIs in a 9-2 victory over the Mariners on May 23, 2021, included a solo homer that made it 1-0, an RBI single that broke a 1-1 tie and a grand slam that extended the Padres\u2019 lead to 8-1.
\nIn his first game back after two weeks on the injured list, on Aug. 15, 2021, Tatis doubled his first time up, gave the Padres a 1-0 lead with a home run his second time up, broke a 1-1 tie with another solo homer his third time up and drove in two runs with a single in his fourth at-bat in an 8-2 victory over the Diamondbacks.
\nWith two outs in the ninth inning and the Padres down 6-3 on May 31, 2021, Tatis tied the game with a three-run homer off the Astros\u2019 Ryan Pressly. The Padres went on to win in 11 innings.
\nIn his first big game against the Dodgers, Tatis drove in four of the Padres\u2019 five runs in a 5-4 victory in Los Angeles on July 7, 2019. He made it 1-0 with a homer leading off the game and 5-1 with a three-run homer in the fifth.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/tatisreal.png\")
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