The San Diego Padres welcome a familiar face to an unusual location.
Fernando Tatis Jr. He’s back in the lineup this Sunday, but instead of playing his usual shortstop position, he’ll make the first career start in right field for the series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Tatis Jr. has been on the disabled list since July 30 with swelling in his left shoulder after partially dislocating his shoulder while sliding to third base. He has missed three games this season because he partially dislocated his shoulder, with the possibility of offseason surgery.
While recovering from this latest injury, Tatis Jr. began capturing flybys in center field, raising questions about where on the field he could play upon his return. Instead, he will play right field with the Golden Glove winner, Trent grisham, in the center and Tommy pham in left field, as the Padres look to bounce back a day after Tyler gilbert, from Arizona, will throw a no-hitter in his first major league start. Jake Cronenworth will continue to play shortstop in place of Tatis Jr.
San Diego will welcome Tatis Jr. to any position as, despite his absence due to injury, he still leads the National League in home runs (31) and stolen bases (23).
The news was not entirely positive for the Padres on Sunday, as the team placed right Yu darvish on the 10-day disabled list with a stiff back retroactive to Friday.
Darvish (7-7, 3.70) left his start Thursday in the third inning with a sore back. He joins his fellow pitchers Drew pomeranz, Dinelson Lamet Y Chris paddack on the Padres’ disabled list.
San Diego enters the game Sunday third in the NL West, 10 games behind the San Francisco Giants, but maintains a 2.5 game lead for second place as a wild card.
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