FERNANDO TATIS IS COMING. DODGERS, YOU HEAR THOSE FOOTSTEPS?
Okay, Dodgers.
You hear that?
Those footsteps getting louder?
That’s Fernando Tatis Jr.
And he’s coming.
Tatis put on an absolute show at Citi Field Tuesday night. Two home runs. Three RBIs. And apparently hitting two bombs wasn’t enough, because he also went to the wall and robbed Francisco Lindor of a grand slam.
That’s not just a good baseball game.
That’s a Fernando Tatis Jr. game.
The Padres beat the Mets 5-2, improving to 68-59, and Tatis was basically the entire highlight reel. His two homers accounted for San Diego’s first three runs, and Robbie Ray gave the Padres six strong innings to help make them stand up.
TATIS JUST REMINDED EVERYBODY WHO HE IS
There are nights when a superstar gets a couple hits.
There are nights when a superstar carries his team.
And then there are nights when Fernando Tatis Jr. decides he’s going to hit two home runs and steal a grand slam from the other team.
That’s ridiculous.
The catch might have been even better than the home runs. Lindor drove one toward the right-field wall with the bases loaded and Tatis went up and brought it back.
Four runs erased with one glove.
That’s the kind of play people remember.
Fernando Tatis Jr.: VERY UNJACKED.
HEY DODGERS, DON’T LOOK NOW
The Dodgers won again Tuesday, beating Colorado 7-6 at Coors Field. Shohei Ohtani hit his 30th home run and Los Angeles escaped after Colorado made it uncomfortable late.
So no, we’re not pretending the Dodgers suddenly disappeared.
They’re still the Dodgers.
But this Padres team has changed.
San Diego entered the Mets series having won eight of its previous 10 and was 19-10 since the All-Star break.
And now Tatis is doing this.
You know the Dodgers are starting to look over their shoulder.
Maybe they don’t see the Padres right on top of them yet.
But they hear something.
THUMP.
Fernando.
THUMP.
Tatis.
THUMP.
Junior.
It’s on.
AND THEN THERE ARE THE GIANTS
I don’t even know what to say anymore.
The Giants lost 8-1 to Cleveland Tuesday night.
This isn’t about one bad game.
It’s what has happened to this franchise.
I’m a Giants fan. I grew up watching this team. And yes, I understand you can’t win every year. Baseball doesn’t work that way.
But this is the franchise that won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Three championships in five seasons.
And look at it now.
The Giants already reached the point where they sold at the trade deadline, moving Robbie Ray to the Padres, Luis Arraez to Philadelphia, Heliot Ramos to the Yankees and other pieces while trying to reload the organization with prospects.
Rebuilding is one thing.
Getting to the point where a franchise with the Giants’ history and resources has to tear things apart like this is another.
There is no excuse for how far this organization has fallen.
Absolute incompetence at a historic level.
The Dodgers have stayed relevant.
The Padres are coming.
And the Giants are getting beat 8-1 by Cleveland.
For Giants fans, that’s about as JACKED UP as it gets.
TODAY
And here’s the fun part.
The Padres are right back at it this morning in New York.
Michael King is scheduled to start against Robert Stock in the series finale at Citi Field. San Diego enters at 68-59.
So let’s see what Fernando has planned for the encore.
Because right now Tatis looks like he’s decided to make the rest of this season interesting.
And somewhere in Los Angeles…
I swear I can hear somebody checking the rearview mirror.
PADRES: UNJACKED.
TATIS: EXTREMELY UNJACKED.
GIANTS: JACKED UP.
DODGERS HAVING TO THINK ABOUT SAN DIEGO AGAIN: VERY UNJACKED.
If it’s sports and it’s Jacked Up, we cover it.
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