SAN DIEGO (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run 430-foot walk-off homer to centerfield to give the San Diego Padres a comeback 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.
Tatis dropped the bat emphatically and watched the ball fly after he connected on a cutter against Angels closer Kenley Jansen (0-2), who took the loss.
Padres reliever Jason Adam (4-0) earned the win with a scoreless ninth.
Matthew Lugo hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the seventh to give the Angels a 4-2 lead. Lugo’s homer followed an RBI double in the seventh by Jo Adell, igniting a three-run rally after the Angels had two outs and no baserunners.
Angels starter José Soriano gave up two unearned runs and four hits in seven innings.
Padres starter Dylan Cease pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and five hits while striking out 10.
The Padres ended their two-game losing streak and finally beat the Angels, who had won their past four games over San Diego dating back to last season.
Key moment
With the game tied 4-4 in the ninth, Elias Díaz earned a full count walk to lead off the inning against Jansen. Tatis followed with his walk-off homer.
Key stat
The Padres hot-hitting Jackson Merrill came into the game with six straight multihit games and hits in 14 of his last 15 games. Merrill was 0 for 4 Tuesday, including two deep flyouts to the wall. Tatis has hit safety in 23 of his last 26 games.
Up next
The Angels’ RHP Randy Vásquez (2-3, 3.76 ERA) starts Wednesday night in the finale of the three-game series. RHP Kyle Hendricks (1-4, 5.30) will be on the mound for the Padres.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Richard J Marcus, The Associated Press
