It had been a long wait for both Tatis Jr. and the fans, but it finally happened…

Entering Saturday’s matchup against the Washington Nationals, it had been 245 days since Fernando Tatis Jr. had last left the yard. It all changed when Tatis Jr. destroyed a 114 mph, 451-foot home run to left field in the top of the fifth inning. It also marked his hardest hit ball since the 2024 season.

EL NIÑO!!! pic.twitter.com/b3ElpWGvHx

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 30, 2026

Tatis Jr.’s first home run of the season came in the Padres 57th game of the year. His last home run came late last season on September 27 when the Padres defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 in San Diego. Saturday’s blast gave San Diego a 3-1 lead over the Nationals in the top of the fifth inning. 

A big weight has finally been lifted off the shoulders of Tatis Jr., who has been in the midst of the worst season of his career thus far. It could spark an offensive lift in production from him, and the entire Padres’ offense has been struggling.

He joined both Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado, who had each homered earlier in the game. Bogaerts’ solo shot to center opened up the scoring at the top of the second, giving the Padres an early 1-0 lead. 

Xander goes oppo ? pic.twitter.com/p38mQqGK18

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 30, 2026

After Drew Millas homered in the following third inning, Machado jabbed back in the fourth with a home run of his own off the left field foul pole that put the Padres back ahead 2-1. Machado himself has also been struggling to start the year and was in the middle of a 3-for-28 slump entering the game.

Manny’s gonna do it. pic.twitter.com/PKOEJzx2Xu

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 30, 2026

With the hype of Tatis Jr.’s first homer of the season, don’t forget about Michael King, who was very efficient through his first six innings, tossing 64 pitches while only allowing one run. He got himself into a pickle when the Nationals came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh. His final line doesn’t account for how well he pitched after it was all said and done.

King gave up a single to CJ Abrams, and Jose Tena reached on a fielder’s choice. He then walked Jorbit Vivas to load the bases with no outs. He hit Dylan Crews on the first pitch of the next at-bat, which would allow the Nationals’ second run of the game to score. It would ultimately end King’s day as he was pulled with 77 pitches in the seventh, with his line not being closed just yet. 

Bradgley Rodriguez followed in relief and allowed all of King’s inherited runners to score. He gave up two more runs of his own, which extended the Nationals’ lead over the Padres to 7-3. King’s line closed and finished his day, allowing four earned runs across six innings. He pitched a lot better than the numbers had to show.

King entered today’s matchup against the Washington Nationals with a 2.96 ERA over his last 400 innings dating back to 2022. That mark puts him in elite company, trailing only four other pitchers with those qualifications: Zack Wheeler (2.92), Chris Sale (2.80), Christopher Sanchez (2.78), and Tarik Skubal (2.41). 

The Padres made things interesting again in the eighth at the expense of Gus Varland. They scored their fourth run of the game when he plunked Anduja,r and then a wild pitch allowed him to take second base. Machado followed with a double down the left field line that scored Andujar.

The Nationals would tack on again in the eighth when Curtis Mead drove in two more runs on a sharp double to left field. That would be the final scoring of the day as the Nationals secured a 9-4 win in game two of a three-game set.

Overall, King pitched really well on Saturday except for when things got away from him in the seventh. Even with his spoiled start, he has still no doubt been one of the best starters in baseball over the last five seasons. It was encouraging to see home runs from a pair of struggling hitters in Tatis Jr. and Machado. The Padres will look to bounce back on Sunday and take the series.

Cade Lalim

Hi, my name is Cade Lalim. I live in Southern California and I’m a huge baseball fan. I am a senior at Laguna Beach High School and will be attending Irvine Valley College starting in the fall of 2026. My goal is to work in the baseball industry whether that’ll be journalism or with a team. I’m super excited to contribute to San Diego Padres coverage here on East Village Times.