On April 23, 1999, then-St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Fernando Tatis Sr. made MLB history when he became the first player to hit two grand slams in the same inning. Both of his bases-loaded shots on that Friday night at Dodger Stadium came off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park in the third inning and cleared the left field fence.
Friday night, Tatis' son — San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. — celebrated the 22-year anniversary of the occasion with his own two-homer outing at Dodger Stadium.
“Oh, I definitely knew this was the day,″ Tatis said with a laugh after the game. “I told myself, ‘If I could just hit two home runs today, that would be so crazy.’ I think the baseball gods were in my favor.”
Both of Tatis Jr.'s blasts off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw went out to left, and adding to the eerie symmetry the first of his solo homers came in the third inning, the same frame that saw his father make history 22 years prior.
That third-inning shot gave the Padres a 2-1 lead over their NL West rivals in the second game of their four-game weekend set.
His home run in the fifth inning gave the Padres a 3-1 lead.
Tatis Jr. doubled his home run total on the season with the blasts, which were the two hardest-hit homers of his career, per Statcast. Perhaps his fourth career multi-homer game is the jump-start his season, which featured an early stint on the injured list, needed after he entered Friday night with a .163 average with two home runs. He finished 3-for-5 with three RBI Friday night in the Padres' 6-1 win.
Tatis Jr. said he shared a moment on the phone with his father after the game.
“He was really happy,” Tatis said. “He was saying how blessed we are. It’s just been a celebration all the way around in my family. It’s definitely something we’re going to take into our last day in this world.”
Contributing: Associated Press
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