SAN DIEGO — Fernando Tatis Jr. and his swagger returned to the playoffs with a blast.
The 25-year-old San Diego star hit a towering two-run home run on his first playoff swing in four seasons to give the Padres a 2-0 lead against rookie AJ Smith-Shawver and the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of their Wild Card Series on Tuesday night.
The shot traveled an estimated 415 feet into the second deck in left field at Petco Park and sent the towel-waving crowd into a frenzy. The dreadlocked Dominican, who has always played with flair, watched the ball sail away, tossed his bat aside, gestured toward the home dugout and did his signature stutter-step around third base.
The son of a former big league infielder, Tatis missed nearly 2 1/2 months this season with a stress reaction in his right thighbone. He returned in early September and finished the regular season with 21 homers and a .276 average.
He homered on a 94-mph four-seamer by the 21-year-old right-hander Smith-Shawyer, one of the Braves’ top prospects who was making his first playoff start and just his second this season.
Luis Arraez was aboard on a leadoff single. Arraez, obtained in a trade with Miami in early May, became the first player since the 1800s to win batting titles with three different teams.
Tatis experienced his first playoff game with fans in the stands. His first playoffs were in 2020 after the pandemic-shortened season. He missed the 2022 run to the NL Championship Series after receiving an 80-game performance-enhanding drug suspension from MLB that August.
His home run came on the anniversary of his two homers in 2020 in a Wild Card Series game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Mike Shildt, in his first season managing the Padres, was St. Louis’ skipper then.
Tatis was an All-Star at shortstop in 2021. He was moved to right field in 2023 and won both the NL Gold Glove Award and Platinum Glove Award.