LOS ANGELES — Later Thursday night, the Padres will board a plane for San Francisco. Maybe when they land, Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 42nd home run ball will be there to greet them.
At 22 years old, Tatis has already made a career out of hitting moonshots. But even by his standards, this was a special one. In the fifth inning of the Padres’ 8-3 loss to the Dodgers, Tatis got a hanging slider from right-hander Tony Gonsolin and sent it out of Dodger Stadium.
And, yes, we mean out of Dodger Stadium.
The ball caromed off the top of the left-field pavilion and into the stadium’s north concourse. It was Tatis’ 42nd home run, moving him into sole possession of second place on the Padres’ all-time single-season list. He trails only Greg Vaughn, who hit 50 in 1998.
According to Statcast, it was the second longest homer of Tatis’ career at 467 feet, trailing only his Coors Field blast on June 16 this season. It was the first home run to leave Dodger Stadium since Giancarlo Stanton hit a 475-foot blast for the Marlins on May 12, 2015.
The Padres may have faded from the playoff picture, but Tatis is still very much in contention to make some franchise history. As an National League MVP candidate, Tatis could join Ken Caminiti (1996) as the only Padres to win the award. He also seems likely to join Fred McGriff (1992) as the only Padres to win the NL home run crown. Atlanta’s Adam Duvall is currently second with 38.
Seven of Tatis’ home runs this season have come at Dodger Stadium, tying him with Todd Helton’s 2001 campaign for the most by a visitor in a single season.
It came in a losing effort, however, as the Padres dropped their ninth straight to the Dodgers, marking the first time they’d been swept in three straight series by L.A. since 1974. San Diego pitchers allowed five home runs for the second consecutive night, as the loss dropped the Padres to 78-81, ensuring a 10th season in 11 years in which they won’t finish above .500. Last year’s abbreviated 60-game season stands as the lone exception.