3 things we learned in the Padres’ 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks

Fernando Tatis Jr. has a pretty swing

I mean, we knew “El Niño” had a pretty swing, but it’s one of those things that you kind of just forget about because it’s hard to believe it’s real. Just like it’s difficult to fathom that a player this good could be on the San Diego Padres, who plucked him seemingly out of nowhere when they wanted to trade away James Shields.

Anyway, Tatis reminded us about the beauty of his swing:

He’s so good, and those insurance runs meant everything later in the game when the Arizona Diamondbacks came back to tie the game at 4-4.

Franmil’s back

Franmil Reyes was truly awful at the plate for the first two weeks of the season, but has finally looked like himself over the last week or so, getting a hit in 5 of his last 6 games (with 3 HRs).

They needed him tonight, and he came through:

The bullpen almost blew it

Gerardo Reyes, a day after making his MLB debut, came in to relieve Matt Strahm after 5 innings. He ended up getting a single out and giving up 4 earned runs, along with any chance of Strahm getting the win.

After Framil’s HR in the top of the 7th took the lead again, the bullpen damn near gave the whole game away in the bottom of the inning.

First, Robert Stock came in and walked two guys in what looks to be his last appearance with the Padres for a while. He couldn’t come anywhere near the strike zone and will probably need to go to El Paso to figure some things out.

Trey Wingenter came in and, after picking off the lead runner, seemingly threw some gasoline on the fire, walking the next batter before hitting the batter after him. With the bases loaded, only 1 out, and a complete lack of control from the bullpen arms, it looked like the beginning of the end...

What a pitch! What a catch! What a moment!

Kudos to Matt Strahm for a stellar 5 inning start, and the rest of the bullpen for getting the close victory for the Padres.