Fernando Tatis Jr. made his presence felt from the opening pitch Tuesday night, homering twice and robbing Francisco Lindor of a potential grand slam as the New York Mets saw their four-game win streak end with a 5-2 loss to the San Diego Padres at Citi Field.
Tatis wasted no time putting San Diego ahead, launching a 452-foot solo home run off Mets starter Zac Thornton on the first pitch of the game.
The Mets had an opportunity to respond in the second inning after loading the bases against Padres starter Robbie Ray. Francisco Alvarez grounded into a fielder’s choice that resulted in an out at home, bringing Lindor to the plate with two outs. Lindor then sent a deep drive toward the right-field wall, but Tatis climbed the wall and pulled the ball back to take away what would have been a grand slam.
Tatis struck again in the fifth, belting a two-run homer to extend San Diego’s lead to 3-0.
Thornton settled in after allowing the first-pitch homer, finishing five innings while allowing three runs on six hits and one walk. The left-hander struck out seven.
The Mets finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Luis Torrens led off the inning with a solo home run. It was his fifth homer in August and seventh of the season, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
San Diego added another run in the seventh on a Ty France RBI single after a pair of walks helped create the scoring opportunity.
Luis Robert Jr. brought the Mets back within two runs with a solo homer in the eighth, but New York could not mount another rally. Manny Machado added a solo home run in the ninth to provide the Padres with an insurance run.
The Mets (57-70) and Padres (68-59) will wrap up their series Wednesday, with first pitch set for 1:10 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.