The Dodgers picked up a 5-4 win over the rival Padres on Saturday night thanks to some heroics from Corey Seager in the sixth to break a 3-3 tie with a two-run single. However, the story of the game for many was the battle between Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer and Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr.
In the first inning, Tatis launched a home run off of Bauer and taunted him as he rounded first base, covering one eye to poke fun at Bauer throwing some pitches in spring training with one eye closed. In the sixth, Tatis went yard again, this time on a pretty great pitch from Bauer that was off the plate outside and he still hammered to left center. After the game, Bauer and Tatis both talked about enjoying the game and that battle, with Bauer noting he’s not going to throw at Tatis for celebrating a home run, via ESPN.
“I like it,” Bauer said. “I think that pitchers who have that done to them and react by throwing at people, or getting upset and hitting people or whatever — I think it’s pretty soft. If you give up a homer, the guy should celebrate it. It’s hard to hit in the big leagues.
“So, I’m all for it. And I think it’s important that the game moves in that direction, and we stop throwing at people because they celebrated having some success on the field.”
However, the cordial behavior didn’t last all that long as someone on Twitter pointed out that on the second homer, Tatis looked down at the ground and seemingly peeked back to look at the catcher. Bauer retweeted the video and told Tatis that if he wanted to know what was coming to “ask daddy nicely next time.” Tatis responded with a photoshop of him holding a child with Bauer’s face, and told him, in Spanish, to “calm down son.”
Tranquilo hijo . pic.twitter.com/lRe2hBLmR8
— Fernando Tatis Jr. (@tatis_jr) April 25, 2021
It’s a funny response from Tatis and just furthers the fact that the Dodgers-Padres rivalry is going to be the most fun to watch in baseball this season (and, presumably, for years to come). They meet again to close their current series out on Sunday Night Baseball, and then won’t meet again until late June.