Tatis leads Padres past Mets with 2 HRs, grand slam robbery

Fernando Tatis Jr. delivered a spectacular all-around performance, hitting two home runs and robbing Francisco Lindor of a grand slam, to lead the San Diego Padres to a 5-2 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night at Citi Field. The win snapped the Mets' four-game winning streak.

Tatis set the tone immediately, hitting the first pitch from Mets rookie Zac Thornton over the wall in left field for a solo home run. He added a two-run homer in the fifth inning, giving him 15 home runs on the season after starting the year with a drought of 238 at-bats without a long ball. However, his most pivotal contribution came in the field.

In the second inning, with the bases loaded and no one out, Padres pitcher Robbie Ray walked three batters. After a groundout forced a run at home plate, Lindor hit a fly ball to deep right field that appeared headed for a grand slam. Tatis sprinted to the wall, leaped, and pulled the ball back, preserving a 1-0 lead for San Diego. The play initially left the crowd of 35,508 in silence, uncertain of the outcome, before Tatis revealed the catch.

"Tough challenge, but robbery today was more fun," Tatis said. "I knew it was going to be a play at the wall....