Padres Superstar Pays Respect to Clayton Kershaw After Multi-Home Run Outing
Taking Clayton Kershaw deep multiple times in the same game is not something we see very often. In fact, only one player has been able to do it twice in their career and that is Fernando Tatis Jr. after leading the Padres to a statement win over the Dodgers on Friday.
It had been about two years since Nando had done so the first time and Kershaw had stayed sharp in that time-span. Despite rumors of retiring after this season, he has still been elite as he brought home NL Pitcher of the Month Award for April and LA mixed around their rotation to ensure he would start off the series at Petco Park on the mound.
However, we have come to realize that Tatis comes ready to play whether you're a hall-of-famer like Kershaw or a rookie pitcher playing their first professional game. His energy and passion for the sport was something the Friars were missing to kickstart the new year and he willed them to a huge win, their 18th of the year.
San Diego's staff had some fun and decided to throw a crying picture of Kershaw up on the screen following their win. It has since sparked a big debate amongst baseball fans about whether or not that was disrespectful.
You can decided whether you think it was or not but one thing is for sure: Nando had nothing but praise for the former World Series champion in his postgame interview.
"Facing one of the best of all time, we got to bring our best," said Tatis. "Our lineup was fighting him from the top to bottom. We just got our victory and we had great at-bats against one of the best."
"He's one of the best of all-time and you got to bring your best when you're facing that guy."
(Via Bally Sports San Diego)
Tatis Jr. and the rest of the friars will face Dustin May and Julio Urias over the next two days. That same mentality should continue as they try and close out this weekend series.
