Tatis’ first grand slam of career drowns Rangers 14-4

On Monday night, Fernando Tatis Jr. brought the Padres’ fan base to their feet with his first career grand slam in the team’s 14-4 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.

The slam came on a 3-0 count with Juan Nicasio attempting to intentionally walk Tatis while the Padres had a comfortable 10-3 in the top of the seventh. After supposedly tipping the decision to send him walking, Tatis took the pitch - which was a tad down and outside - and sent it over the right field wall.

The move ruffled the feathers of both Texas manager Chris Woodward and San Diego’s Jayce Tingler, but Ting congratulated Tatis nonetheless when he returned to the dugout.

“He’s young, a free spirit and focused and all those things,” said Tingler. “That’s the last thing that we’ll ever take away. It’s a learning opportunity and that’s it. He’ll grow from it.”

I don’t want to delve in this bit of drama any more than I have to, but here’s my quick and succinct opinion: Shut up, old heads.

I couldn’t care less about the “unwritten rules” of baseball when they’re all decades old and, for the most part, irrelevant in the current age of the sport. How dare these people attempt to throw a dark smudge over this young man’s first career grand slam. Seriously, it’s a HUGE achievement for a player contending to be the new face of the MLB and instead of respecting the feat, they’re choosing to tarnish the whole thing.

I don’t care what sport it is, if you don’t want the score run up, or whatever equivalent you can come up with, than don’t allow the opposing team to do it. This isn’t youth sports where sometimes one team is just lightyears better than the other, it’s two teams full of professional athletes.

My goodness. It makes me want to run my head through a wall. They did it to themselves. The Rangers deserve to look in the mirror and accept the fact they sucked last night and there’s nothing else to it.

(Ahem) Moving on.

The victory last night ended San Diego’s (12-12) five-game skid and kept them from sinking even deeper into the basement of the NL West. Tatis finished with seven RBIS and a pair of home runs in back-to-back innings which helped push his HR and RBI totals to 11 and 28, respectively. After his huge performance, El Nino now leads the majors in runs scored, home runs, and RBIs. Give it up for The Phenom, everyone.

Austin Hedges also hit a home run on the evening, his second of the year, to help establish the team’s 7-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. After some dismal hitting as of late, the Friars were able to record seven hits up to that point, including five within a string of six at-bats in the third.

In a solid performance by the Padres’ bullpen, Matt Strahm and Luis Perdomo did a phenomenal job holding the Rangers hitless through the game’s final three innings. Starter Zach Davies went five innings and allowed three hits, three runs, with six strikeouts and two walks.

The Rangers’ Jordan Lyles tried to keep it together but was making the Padres look automatic as he allowed the aforementioned seven hits, six runs with only two Ks.

Game two is scheduled earlier today for 1:05pm. Left-hander Adrian Morejon (0-0) is getting the start on the mound against righty Mike Minor (0-3).