Tatis Hits Two, But Cincinnati's Eighth Inning Proves Too Much

Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-for-5 with two home runs and two RBI, and San Diego still lost. Cincinnati scored twice in the eighth inning to take a lead it never surrendered, beating the Padres 4-3 on September 1.

The game opened with a jab-counterjab first inning that set the tone for everything that followed. Machado hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Taylor to put San Diego up 1-0. Cincinnati answered immediately — Bleday singled to right, scoring Rodríguez to tie it at 1-1. Neither team blinked, and the game stayed knotted until the fifth.

Tatis Jr. broke the deadlock in the fifth with a 347-foot home run to right, pushing San Diego back in front 2-1. It looked like the kind of swing that wins games. It wasn't. Cincinnati came right back in the same inning — Rodríguez singled to right, scoring Arroyo and pulling the Reds even at 2-2. The game was a tug-of-war, and the rope snapped in the eighth. Trevino singled to center, scoring De La Cruz and moving McLain to second and Stewart to third. That single swung Cincinnati's win probability from 75% to 91% — a 17-point lurch that effectively decided the night. Brito followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Stewart, and suddenly the Reds led 4-2 with three outs to go.

Tatis Jr. made it interesting. He launched a 361-foot shot to right in the ninth to cut it to 4-3, finishing the night 2-for-5 with two home runs, two RBI, and two runs scored. That's a line that wins most nights. The story of this game, though, was Cincinnati's ability to match every San Diego punch through seven innings and then land a clean combination in the eighth when it mattered most. Nick Lodolo gave the Reds exactly what they needed — 6.0 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts — keeping San Diego's lineup manageable long enough for the bullpen to close it out. Randy Vasquez lasted just 4.2 innings for the Padres, allowing 5 hits and 2 earned runs, and the San Diego relief corps — Bradgley Rodriguez and Yuki Matsui combined for 2.1 scoreless innings — couldn't change the math after the eighth-inning damage was done. Cincinnati wins 4-3.