"Fernando Tatis Jr. is kind of putting it on his back” - Xander Bogaerts praises teammate’s performance as Padres defeat Dodgers in NLDS Game 3

Fernando Tatis Jr. has hit four home runs in five games during the 2024 MLB playoffs. He is a primary reason the San Diego Padres are one win away from going to the NLCS for the first time since 2022. It has been an outstanding run, and it's one his teammates are taking notice of.

Xander Bogaerts praised the outfielder's performance via MLB:

"Obviously, Fernando is kind of putting it on his back right now. That’s something special to witness, to see."

The crowd that went wild for Tatis' latest home run has been a big part of the Padres' success. The right fielder specifically said it "has to be up there" and added:

"Man, when I hit it, I don't know, I just blacked out, started screaming at my dugout, just the energy through the roof, especially that type of inning that we built after two outs. It was just momentum and just definitely a beautiful finish at the end of that inning."

It all has the Padres in the driver's seat for tonight's Game 4 matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The crowd will presumably be loud and proud again, and the Dodgers will need to devote extra care to getting Tatis out.

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Dave Roberts and Walker Buehler discuss Fernando Tatis Jr.'s clutch home run

The home run that Fernando Tatis Jr. hit off of Walker Buehler proved to be the difference. It put the San Diego Padres up 6-1, and a Teoscar Hernandez grand slam would later cut it to 6-5.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the deciding home run (Imagn)

That ended up being the final score, meaning Tatis' run was the deciding factor. Manager Dave Roberts addressed the at-bat via MLB:

"I thought obviously the pitch to Tatis was a bad pitch. But I think leading up to that, there were just balls that we just didn't convert into outs. And it builds the stress in the inning."

Buehler said:

"We come up one run short. And I gave up the homer to Tatis."

The pitcher admitted that he got Tatis into an 0-2 count but failed to come through after that and left a pitch to hit for the outfielder, and Tatis didn't miss it.