How Fernando Tatis Jr. fared in return from PED suspension originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
For the first time since Oct. 3, 2021, Fernando Tatis Jr. was back on an MLB field Thursday.
The 24-year-old San Diego Padres star made his return from an 80-game PED suspension. MLB handed down the suspension to Tatis Jr. last August after he had already missed the entire 2022 season to that point due to a fractured wrist.
Tatis Jr. hit in the leadoff spot and played right field for his return game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. It was just his 24th career start in the outfield.
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When he walked to the plate for the contest's first at-bat, Tatis Jr. was met with boos from D-backs fans and cheers from Padres fans in attendance.
Tatis Jr. was coming off a torrid rehab assignment where he recorded seven home runs and a 1.802 OPS across eight games in Triple-A. But that success didn't immediately translate to the bigs.
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In his first at-bat, Tatis Jr. struck out swinging for his first of two K's on the night. He also grounded out once and lined out twice en route to an 0-for-5 showing at the dish.
Tatis Jr. did, however, make a highlight-reel play in the field. With San Diego holding a 7-5 lead in the eighth, he impressively ran down a ball in right field to take away an extra-base hit from Josh Rojas.
The Padres held on for a 7-5 win over the first-place Diamondbacks to improve to 10-11.
