BOSTON \u2014 Fernando Tatis Jr. is 27 years old, still capable of running 66 feet and leaping high enough to get most of his body on top of a five-foot wall to almost come away with a home run robbery.<\/p>\n
He is just four years older than Marcelo Mayer, the Red Sox rookie whose home run sailed just beyond Tatis\u2019 outstretched glove to seal his team\u2019s 5-2 victory over the Padres on Friday.<\/p>\n
Fernando Tatis Jr just missed that one and Marcelo Mayer has his first home run of the season!<\/p>\n
(Via @RedSox<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/UpU7fRpNlK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n But this will make Tatis feel a lot older:<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a tremendous athlete, so he was one of my favorite players growing up,\u201d said Mayer, who was born in Chula Vista and graduated from Eastlake High. \u201cIf he would have caught that, I probably would have changed my mind. But he\u2019s a great player.\u201d<\/p>\n Tatis held his thumb and index finger no more than two inches apart when asked how close he came to making the catch.<\/p>\n It really never should have been a question. The ball, hit 385 feet, was judged by Statcast as having been far enough to have been a home run in any of the major leagues\u2019 30 ballparks.<\/p>\n Tatis said he didn\u2019t think he had a chance until he made the leap at the end.<\/p>\n Hitless no more<\/p>\n Luis Campusano might have been a hero if his RBI double in the fifth inning was not the Padres\u2019 final hit of Friday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, the hit had an undeniable significance.<\/p>\n It was the Padres catcher\u2019s first since Aug. 31, 2024, a span of 35 at-bats that comprised what was the major leagues\u2019 longest active hitless streak.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can go now,\u201d Campusano said. \u201cIt\u2019d be nice if we had the win with it, but I think just for now, we just go.\u201d<\/p>\n Campusano had grounded out in the third inning to fall to 0-for-6 this season.<\/p>\n In the fifth inning, with Gavin Sheets on first base and the Padres down 2-1, Campusano belted a full-count sinker 388 feet to left-center field, where it clanked off the Green Monster.<\/p>\n As he stood on second base, he said his first thought was, \u201cThank God.\u201d<\/p>\n Still a fan favorite<\/p>\n Xander Bogaerts had been here before, but not like this.<\/p>\n The first time he returned to Fenway Park as a Padre, in 2024, Bogaerts was on the injured list. The Red Sox played a video tribute, and Bogaerts received a standing ovation before the first game of that series.<\/p>\n And on Friday, the cheers before his first at-bat in the top of the first inning were long enough that both plate umpire Chris Segal and Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez stepped away from the plate to allow a sellout crowd of 36,233 to show its appreciation.<\/p>\n The applause grew louder and louder as Bogaerts was announced, so much so that he had to take a step back from the plate, remove his helmet and tip toward all corners of the ballpark.<\/p>\n Xander Bogaerts gets a standing ovation in the first game he has played at Fenway since leaving the Red Sox \ud83d\udc4f pic.twitter.com\/rF0ZAS1VJi<\/a><\/p>\n