The San Diego Padres took the series finale last night with an impressive show of home run power.
The San Diego Padres took the series finale against the Houston Astros last night, 7-2, as they got the series win behind a power surge that featured homers from Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Gavin Sheets to get the win.
Things were tight early, as the Astros scored two runs off Padres starter Randy Vasquez in the second inning on a two-run homer by Dalton Varsho, but San Diego countered with a solo homer in the same frame from Jackson Merrill.
That made it 2-1, but the Padres were just getting started with their homer parade. Tatis launched his laser in the fourth inning off Houston starter Cristian Javier, and the three-run shot gave the Padres a 4-2 lead.
Gavin Sheets extended San Diego’s lead to 5-2 with a solo shot in the fifth, and the newest Padres, Austin Hays, got in on the act with a two-run homer in the eighth to make the game a route.
Vasquez gave the Padres five solid innings of two-run ball, and Kyle Hart, Bradgley Rodriguez and Jeremiah Estrada finished up by holding Houston scoreless for the last four, with Rodriguez contributing two scoreless innings.
The Padres won their second game of the series after dropping the first two, and manager Craig Stammen noted how different things are when Tatis, Merrill and Manny Machado are all hitting together as he discussed Tatis specifically.
“It takes our team to another level, when [Tatis] can kind of put us on his back and be like, ‘Hey, I got you guys,’” said Stammen in a piece written by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “I’ve just seen it in his eye here lately that he’s got that feeling that he can do it.”
Merrill has been doing that as well, and now it’s spreading to Tatis. Before that it was Machado carrying the club for a stretch, and Tatis talked about how important the power surge was.
“It takes our team to another level, when he can kind of put us on his back and be like, ‘Hey, I got you guys,’” said manager Craig Stammen. “I’ve just seen it in his eye here lately that he’s got that feeling that he can do it.”
Sheets has been slumping lately since his early homer surge, as he’s been delaing with plantar fasciitis for the better part of a month now. He broke out last night in a big way, and the Padres are hoping to see more of the same.
“It’s nice to get in on the fun,” Sheets said. “That’s the fun thing about this team. I feel like I was going in April and May when some guys weren’t. We pick each other up. That’s what good teams do.”
