2026 MLB playoffs: How Fernando Tatis Jr. got his groove back - ESPN

WITH TWO HEARTBREAKS behind him and a mountain ahead of him, San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen was asked about the challenge of taking three consecutive National League Division Series games against the 103-win Milwaukee Brewers. He pointed to the regular season, during which the Padres went from floundering in July to percolating in August to dominating by September.

«We've been resilient all year,» Stammen said before a Monday workout at Petco Park, ahead of Tuesday's Game 3. «We've had our backs against the wall several times. Players, individually, have had their backs against the wall.»

No player represents that better than the Padres' most important one.

Fernando Tatis Jr. did not hit his first home run until May 30 and somehow finished with 25 of them. Fifty games into the Padres' season, he ranked 165th among 171 qualified players in slugging percentage. By the end of it, he was slashing .289/.350/.470.

«It was determination,» Tatis said. «It would've been easy just to get carried over by the emotions and say it was a bad year, but, man, we just kept working.»

To rediscover his form, Tatis had to tap into old mechanics and overhaul his swing. He had to lean on a longtime hitting coach and a future Hall of Famer. Mostly, though, Tatis had to pick himself up and rally like never before. He went from looking like a lost cause to putting together what he believes is the best stretch of his life, a mesmerizing two-month surge that coincided with the Padres' rise.

The apex occurred in the Padres' postseason opener seven days ago, in front of a sold-out, frenzied Petco Park crowd, when Tatis hit the first pitch he saw 405 feet for a leadoff home run and later raced home to score on an attempted steal of second