The San Diego Padres secured a 9-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night in the second game of their four-game series.
However, ahead of Wednesday’s matchup, which will feature Casey Mize making his debut for the Padres on the mound and Mitch Bratt for Arizona, San Diego manager Craig Stammen made a notable lineup switch involving superstar Fernando Tatis Jr.
Padres Announce Tatis Jr. Change
Tatis Jr. has only missed two games this season, and in the majority of those appearances, he’s been in the outfield, particularly right field. In the rare instances when he gets a day off from defense, the Padres usually slot him in as the designated hitter.
However, on Wednesday night, Stammen elected to start Tatis Jr. at second base, a position he’s familiar with but has played just 25 times and made 41 appearances at across his 112 games this season.
The outfield will instead consist of Luis Rengifo in left field, Jackson Merrill in center and Jase Bowen in right, while Jake Cronenworth will serve as the designated hitter.
Padres 8/5
F. Tatis Jr. 2B
L. Rengifo LF
M. Machado 3B
T. France 1B
J. Merrill CF
X. Bogaerts SS
L. Campusano C
J. Cronenworth DH
J. Bowen RFC. Mize SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 5, 2026
Tatis Jr.’s 2026 Season
Tatis Jr. went 1-for-4 with two runs scored in Tuesday night’s victory.
This season, the three-time All-Star is batting .280 across 439 at-bats with 123 hits, eight home runs and 49 RBIs, while slugging .396 and posting a .747 OPS.
Padres Right Now
The Padres enter Wednesday’s game with a 59-55 record and are hoping to make a strong postseason push over the final 48 games of the regular season.
San Diego sits 9.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West but is just 1.0 game out of the final National League Wild Card spot.
San Diego Padres Announce Fernando Tatis Jr. Change During D-Backs Series