A year later, Tatis robs Devers of homer again
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SAN DIEGO -- Rafael Devers is probably getting sick of this.
In the first inning of Thursday night's Giants-Padres game at Petco Park, Fernando Tatis Jr. ranged to the right-center-field gap before leaping and taking a homer away from the Giants slugger. It was an extraordinary catch -- as much for the ground Tatis covered as the play itself.
And it probably felt a bit too familiar for Devers.
Last August, Tatis robbed Devers of a home run, and the circumstances were eerily similar. That, too, came in the first inning of a game between the Padres and Giants at Petco Park with JP Sears on the mound.
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The two catches themselves were very different. Last year, Tatis ranged straight back to the wall, timed his leap and made the play over the big wall in right field. It was part of an absurd stretch in which Tatis robbed four home runs in a span of 27 home games.
On Thursday, the degree of difficulty was a bit easier for Tatis, in front of the shorter wall at the right-center-field beach area. But Tatis still needed to cover 94 feet to make the catch, per Statcast -- an impressive number on most catches, let alone a home run robbery.
Devers settled for a sacrifice fly, and the Giants grabbed a 1-0 lead. It easily could have been three.