ARLINGTON, Texas – Fernando Tatis Jr.’s first grand slam gave the 21-year-old the first-class lead in home races over Mike Trout and a career-high seven RBIs.
Jayce Tingler was less than happy when the budding star returned to the dugout, especially since it was the homecoming of Texas for the first year San Diego manager.
Tatis missed a take sign and swung on a 3-0 pitch with a seven-run lead in the eighth inning, and his second homer of the game ended the score for the Padres in their 14-4 victory over the Rangers on Monday night.
While Tatis said his manager congratulated him on his 11th homer, which put him one ahead of Trout, Tingler was quick to point out that he missed a take sign.
“He’s young, a free spirit and straightforward and all that stuff,” Tingler said. ‘That’s the last thing we’ll ever take. It’s a learning opportunity and that’s it. He will grow out of it. ”
It stank a little more for Tingler, as it was the first trip of the year manager as manager to his baseball house the previous 13 years, including the last on the staff of then-rookie Rangers skipper Chris Woodward in 2019.
“Just so you know, a lot of our guys have 3-0 green lights,” Tingler said. “But in this game we had a particularly comfortable lead. We are not trying to increase the score or anything like that. “
The Rangers showed their displeasure by throwing the next pitch behind slugger Manny Machado. It was Ian Gibault’s first pitch that replaced Juan Nicasio.
“I personally did not like it,” Woodward said. “But, as I said, the standards are being challenged on a daily basis. That just because I do not like it does not mean that it is not good. I do not think we liked it as a group. ”
Tatis, whose three-run homer in the seventh put the Padres up 10-3, said he got the message.
“I’ve been in this game since I was a kid,” he said. “I know a lot of unwritten rules. I was somewhat lost on this. … Those experiences, you have to learn. After all, I will take a pitch next time. ”
The first homer was pulled into the San Diego bullpen in left-center field on the hardest hit of the season for Tatis at 113 mph, according to Statcast. The slam was to the opposite field and tasted a fan nut in the fourth row.
“They were both pretty impressive,” Tingler said.
Austin Hedges tied on his second homer, a solo shot in the fourth, as the Padres set their season high for runes.
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