Fernando Tatis Jr. takes Trevor Bauer banter to Twitter after home run shenanigans
Saturday's game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres opened with a Fernando Tatis Jr. home run off Trevor Bauer.
That in itself isn't too notable; Tatis hit two homers the previous night, on a date with some interesting history for the Tatis family and Dodger Stadium. The home run became a little more notable as Tatis went through his home run trot.
Specifically, look at what he did as he rounded first base:
.@tatis_jr with an electric trip around the bases. pic.twitter.com/gqZrwmbSwC
— MLB (@MLB) April 25, 2021
Pause. Enhance:
El Niño has his eye on the prize. pic.twitter.com/j4MPw206JT
— MLB (@MLB) April 25, 2021
Oh.
For those of you who weren't closely following the Dodgers or Padres in spring training, that little eye motion is undoubtedly a reference to Bauer choosing to pitch an inning against the Padres with one eye closed seven weeks ago, for reasons known only to Trevor Bauer.
In that case, Bauer performed a little better, throwing a scoreless inning while striking out two.
Trevor Bauer striking out people with one eye closed. 😳 pic.twitter.com/heHkxVPdL7
— MLB (@MLB) March 6, 2021
Bauer didn't try too hard to explain what he was doing while speaking with reporters after the start, but he did throw in something that the Padres may have put on the bulletin board:
"I figured if they can’t score off of me with one eye open, it's going to be difficult to score off me with two eyes open. Just having a little bit of fun."
As it turns out, the Padres can score on Bauer when has two eyes open.
Tatis takes Bauer deep again
The fireworks continued in the sixth inning, when Tatis hit his second homer of the day and his fourth of the series. He threw in a bat flip on this one, plus a strut after crossing home plate:
#HazloGrande, @tatis_jr. pic.twitter.com/5sEuIldtel
— MLB (@MLB) April 25, 2021
With that homer, Tatis tied his father Fernando Tatis Sr. in homers at Dodger Stadium with six. As you might know, the elder Tatis is well-known for homers at Dodger Stadium.
Despite those two homers, the Dodgers eventually pulled out a 5-4 win. Bauer responded to Tatis' celebrations after the game and said he was all for players openly celebrating big plays:
The full Trevor Bauer quote on celebrating in baseball. Don't mind my messy transcript. pic.twitter.com/tFBpx0cCzr
— Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) April 25, 2021
The banter didn't stop there. Ahead of the final game of the series on "Sunday Night Baseball," Bauer shared a video of the second home run at-bat by Tatis. It shows Tatis glancing behind him toward the catcher to possibly get a look at the sign.
Bauer tagged him in the post, writing "If you need to know what pitch is coming that badly, just ask daddy nicely next time." Bauer tipped his own pitches in a 2020 spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers while with the Cincinnati Reds. He has been outspoken in his disdain for the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal.
Tatis got the last remark, at least temporarily, with a photoshopped picture and "calm, son" in Spanish.
Tranquilo hijo . pic.twitter.com/lRe2hBLmR8
— Fernando Tatis Jr. (@tatis_jr) April 25, 2021
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