Padres News: Fernando Tatis Doesn’t Have an Answer For His Slump

Tatis Jr. is struggling at the plate lately.

Each Padres loss is a wasted opportunity to climb the National League Wild Card standings, as teams ahead of them are also struggling to put together wins. The Friars lost to the Seattle Mariners 2-0 Tuesday night.

Amidst the Padres' struggles, a fan-favorite in Fernando Tatis Jr. has also had difficulty putting together solid performances at the plate. In his last 14 games, Tatis Jr. is batting .119, including an 0-for-4 performance in Tuesday's loss.

He could have hit his fifth homer in 32 games if it hadn't been for an incredible play by Seattle's Julio Rodriguez, who robbed Tatis of a projected 410-foot would-be home run Tuesday night.

"I got 109 and 110 off the bat," Tatis said. "Still not going out. So that's everything I can control, like I've been saying for — how long? — three weeks, four weeks. ... I wish I had an answer. Just gotta keep going. That's all I got. Grab your glove, go out there and play defense and come back up and have another good at-bat."

(Via

The San Diego Union-Tribune

)

Tatis Jr. had a solid June, slashing .318/.400/.591 and hitting 6 home runs. He started slowing down in July and has had a statistically abysmal August.

But don't tell Tatis Jr. that he's in a slump.

"I think he's handled it beautifully," manager Bob Melvin said. "Every day, he comes in positive. He doesn't want anything to do with a day off. ... His workload, playing basically every (game) after as long a time off as he was, I think it's fantastic. He keeps himself in great condition. He's positive every day. I know anybody else would probably be showing a little bit more frustration than he is with the at-bats he's taken right now and the lack of success."

(Via

The San Diego Union-Tribune

)

Tatis Jr. is continuing to play his game the only way he knows how. He believes the results will follow. 

"I'm doing the right stuff for what the game is asking me to do," Tatis Jr. said. "I'm just not getting the results. But you're doing the good stuff. ... Hopefully soon the game starts to reward you."

(Via

The San Diego Union-Tribune

)