Fernando Tatis Jr. delivered a historic performance Tuesday night, powering the San Diego Padres to a 5-2 win against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Tatis initiated the game with a 452-foot leadoff home run, marking his 18th career leadoff homer. He later added another home run in the fifth inning.
In addition to his offensive contributions, Tatis made a spectacular defensive play in the second inning, leaping at the right field wall to rob Francisco Lindor of a grand slam. According to OptaSTATS, Tatis is the first MLB player to record multiple home runs and rob a grand slam in the same game since Mike Cameron did so during a four-homer performance in 2002.
Manager Craig Stammen praised Tatis' all-around impact. "It’s up there as one of the most impactful [games] he’s had as a Padre, for sure," Stammen said. "You look at how many runs he created and then how many runs he took away. That’s a pretty big number. They talk about plus-minus in the NBA and hockey. That was a big plus-minus game for Tatis tonight."
Tatis' defensive gem was crucial for Padres pitcher Robbie Ray, who secured his best start as a Padre, allowing one run over six innings with four strikeouts. Without Tatis' catch, Ray's outing could have been significantly different.
Following the game, Tatis shared a GIF of Maximus from "Gladiator" on X, with the caption, "Are you not entertained?" The post garnered over 1.1 million views.
Prior to Wednesday's series finale, Tatis was batting .280 with 15 home runs and 60 RBIs on the season. His performance came after overcoming an early-season offensive slump, having taken 240 plate appearances to hit his first home run of the year.
