SAN DIEGO -- Hard to start a ballgame any better than the Padres did on Sunday afternoon.
Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado hit back-to-back-to-back home runs -- against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, no less -- marking just the second time in franchise history the Padres have opened a game with three straight home runs.
The only other time the Padres had done so came on April 13, 1987, when Marvell Wynne, Tony Gwynn and John Kruk opened a game with three consecutive homers. It marked the first time San Diego had notched three consecutive homers at any point in a game, since doing so against the Astros on Sept. 18, 2024. (Machado and Tatis were a part of that as well, alongside Donovan Solano.)
Interestingly, it was not a first for Cole: The former Cy Young winner had previously allowed three straight home runs to start his outing against the Twins on June 9, 2022 -- a game the Yankees would rally to win. Cole is the only pitcher in MLB history to have that happen more than once in his career.
It was quite a statement for a team looking to make a push in the National League Wild Card race. The Padres entered play a half-game back of the Diamondbacks for the final playoff spot in the NL, having dropped eight of their past 11.
First, Tatis launched a homer to right field for his 20th of the season. It’s his sixth 20-homer season -- but perhaps his most impressive, considering he didn’t hit his first until May 30.
Then came Cronenworth, who had never hit a home run to the opposite field in his seven big league seasons. But he launched one down the left-field line and kept it just fair off the Western Metal Supply Co. building.
Machado made it three, with a no-doubter to straightaway center, his team-leading 26th of the season, putting him just five shy of 400 for his career.
The Padres nearly made it four straight, but Ty France flied out to the center field warning track for the first out of the bottom of the first.