Tatis hits 2-run homer, King strikes out 12 because the Padres beat the Braves 4-0 in playoff opener
SAN DIEGO (AP) Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a towering two-run homer on his first playoff swing in 4 years and Michael King struck out 12 in his first postseason begin because the San Diego Padres beat rookie AJ Smith-Shawver and the Atlanta Braves 4-0 in Recreation 1 of their NL Wild Card Sequence on Tuesday evening.
Tatis’ 415-foot shot within the first inning landed within the second deck in left discipline at Petco Park and despatched the towel-waving, sellout crowd of 47,647 right into a frenzy. The 25-year-old star, who missed simply greater than 2 1/2 months this season with a stress response in his proper thighbone, watched the ball fly away, tossed his bat apart, gestured towards the house dugout and did his signature stutter step round third base.
“It’s lovely vitality. I really like this sort of scenario,” Tatis stated. “It positively brings the most effective out of me. And simply trying ahead to far more experiences like this.”
He stated he was looking a fastball.
“I used to be going for it most likely earlier than he launched the pitch. However in search of my fastball, he left it over the plate, and had positively nice outcomes,” Tatis stated. “I knew it was going to exit. I didn’t realize it was going to land within the second deck simply because how excessive it was.”
Recreation 2 within the best-of-three playoff is Wednesday evening. If the Padres win the collection, they’re going to face their greatest rivals, the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers, within the Nationwide League Division Sequence. The Padres eradicated the 111-win Dodgers in a 2022 NLDS.
King was sensible in changing into the primary pitcher to have 12 strikeouts with no runs or walks allowed in his first profession postseason begin. He permitted 5 hits and joined Kevin Brown and Sterling Hitchcock as the one Padres pitchers with double-digit strikeouts in a playoff recreation.
At 2 hours, 9 minutes, it was the quickest postseason recreation since Greg Maddux and the Braves beat the Dodgers in 2:08 throughout a 1996 NL Division Sequence.
“I feel I dreamed of an ideal recreation as an alternative of some hits that I gave up,” stated King, who came visiting within the blockbuster commerce that despatched Juan Soto to the New York Yankees in December. “However I imply, to rise up 1-0 in a three-game collection is big. That was the aim and we achieved that. We have our horse Joe (Musgrove) tomorrow and I’ve acquired quite a lot of confidence in us.”
King made his postseason debut with the Yankees within the AL playoff bubble in 2020 at eerily empty Petco Park, the place the one “followers” have been just a few thousand cardboard cutouts. He pitched two innings in a Recreation 3 loss throughout a Division Sequence that Tampa Bay received in 5 video games.
Getting the short 2-0 lead “made it so I might actually assault on my fastball and keep forward within the counts and actually put the stress on,” King stated. “Feeling the group noise, understanding how large postseason video games are, all of it performed into my mentality all through the entire recreation.”
The Braves clinched a playoff berth by successful the second recreation of a make-up doubleheader towards the New York Mets on Monday in Atlanta. However they’re with out NL Cy Younger Award favourite Chris Sale for this collection. The left-hander was scratched from the late recreation Monday with again spasms.
Atlanta performed 27 innings on reverse coasts in a bit greater than 24 hours.
Tatis homered on a 94 mph four-seamer from the 21-year-old Smith-Shawver, one of many Braves’ high prospects. He was making his first playoff begin and simply his second this season.
Luis Arraez was aboard on a leadoff single. Arraez, obtained in a commerce with Miami in early Might, turned the primary participant for the reason that 1800s to win batting titles with three groups.
Tatis skilled his first postseason recreation with followers within the stands. His first playoffs have been in 2020 after the pandemic-shortened season. He missed San Diego’s run to the 2022 Nationwide League Championship Sequence after receiving an 80-game PED suspension from MLB that August.
His dwelling run got here on the anniversary of his two homers in a 2020 Wild Card Sequence recreation towards the St. Louis Cardinals. Mike Shildt, in his first season managing the Padres, was St. Louis’ skipper then.
Kyle Higashioka homered within the eighth and had a sacrifice fly within the second. He’s 3 for 30 towards Atlanta, with three homers.
San Diego was the one one of many 4 dwelling groups to win its playoff opener Tuesday.
Smith-Shawver allowed three runs and 4 hits in 1 1/3 innings.
Braves supervisor Brian Snitker stated Smith-Shawver did not know he was beginning till the skipper known as him Tuesday morning.
“It wasn’t due to who we began that we didn’t win this recreation,” Snitker stated. “We couldn’t get something going offensively.”
Mentioned Smith-Shawver: “There are clearly nerves, but in addition it’s the place you need to be throwing and typically it doesn’t work out your approach. However I don’t assume nerves have been the problem at the moment.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: Snitker stated he spoke with Sale on Tuesday: “He isn’t feeling actual good. He wished to be right here pitching. Sadly, he cannot. It is robust for him. He was life like with us in how he felt.”
UP NEXT
Braves LHP Max Fried (11-10, 3.25 ERA) and Musgrove (6-5, 3.88) are scheduled to begin Wednesday evening. Fried is a former Padres farmhand. Musgrove grew up in suburban El Cajon.
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