Fernando Tatis Jr.'s Homer Helps Padres Take Down Astros 7-2
Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fourth inning, giving the San Diego Padres a 4-2 lead over the AL West-leading Houston Astros on Sunday.
The Padres took two of three in the series and remained one game out of a National League playoff spot. This win marks their 12th victory in 16 games.
Randy Vásquez pitched five solid innings, retiring his final 10 batters after allowing Daulton Varsho's two-run homer with two outs in the second. It was Varsho's eighth home run this season and first since being acquired from Toronto before the trade deadline last Monday.
Tatis hit a 421-foot drive to the third level of the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in the left-field corner with two outs in the fourth. It was his 11th homer of the season.
The Padres continued their scoring in the sixth and eighth innings, with Gavin Sheets and Austin Hays hitting two-run shots, respectively. Sheets greeted reliever AJ Blubaugh with a leadoff shot to right in the sixth. It was his 15th.
Hays, signed earlier in the day, batted for Sheets in the eighth and homered to left off Bryan King. It was his second.
Vásquez held the Astros to two hits with one strikeout and no walks.
The Padres' comeback was sparked by Jackson Merrill's home run to straightaway center field off Cristian Javier in the bottom of the second. It was Merrill's 18th of the season.
The Astros' Daulton Varsho hit a two-run homer in the second, but the Padres' offense took over from there, with Tatis' homer and two more shots in the sixth and eighth innings.
The win moves the Padres closer to a National League playoff spot, and they will look to continue their momentum in their next game.
Up next, the Padres face the Milwaukee Brewers, with RHP Casey Mize making his first home start since being acquired from Detroit last Monday.
Source: Yahoo Sports