MLB's home run chase could be shaping into a showdown between two second-generation stars.
Padres phenom Fernando Tatis Jr. pulled into a tie for the league lead in homers on Friday night -- after cracking three long balls at home against the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks.
The trio of big flies gives Tatis 25 on the season, tying him with Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who, like Tatis, bears the name of his famous ball-playing father.
While it took Guerrero the better part of two seasons to establish himself as one of the game's most feared sluggers, the same can't be said for Tatis, who has raked every step of the way since his debut in 2019. The 22-year-old is now hitting .299/.374/.616 with 64 homers in 878 career plate appearances, including .293/.373/.702 with the 25 homers this season.
While Guerrero is arguably the better all-around hitter -- he has better plate discipline, and therefore higher batting averages and on-base percentages -- amazingly, the relatively trim and lanky Tatis appears to supply more muscle at the plate, outpacing Vladdy in both slugging and isolated power.
The three-homer outburst was the first of Tatis' Major League career. He had previously slugged two in the same game on a few occasions. Interestingly, it came on the same day that Tatis revealed he wouldn't participate in the Home Run Derby during All-Star festivities in Colorado. His reason, he said, was because he wants to compete against Guerrero, who declined to join so as not to upset the offensive groove he's been enjoying this season.
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