Higashioka hits walk-off homer and Tatis extends hitting streak to 17 games as Padres beat A's 4-3
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Kyle Higashioka homered leading off the ninth inning and the San Diego Padres beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Fernando Tatis Jr. extended his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games, but Jurickson Profar, who entered second in the big leagues in batting and first in the NL in on-base percentage, hurt himself swinging at a pitch leading off the eighth.
Profar was replaced by pinch-hitter David Peralta, who flied out to center field. The Padres loaded the bases with two outs before Jackson Merrill flied out to left.
Higashioka ended it with a drive to left off left-hander Scott Alexander (0-1), his fifth homer of the season. It was the first career walk-off homer for Higashioka, and his second game-ending hit.
Robert Suarez (3-0) got the win.
Tatis singled and doubled. He has the longest current hitting streak in the majors. He also extended his on-base streak to a career-best 21 games.
The Padres popped above .500 by winning the series and will go for their first sweep of the season Wednesday.
The A’s have lost 10 of 13 and are a season-worst 17 games below .500.
Tyler Soderstrom tied it at 3 for Oakland with a two-run homer off Enyel De Los Santos with one out in the eighth and Miguel Andujar aboard on a single. It was his third.
The tying homer came three innings after the Padres took a 3-1 lead against JP Sears. After Luis Arraez’s two-out infield single brought in Ha-Seong Kim from second base to tie the score at 1, Tatis doubled to center. Profar singled to bring in Arraez and Tatis, and then was thrown out at home trying to score on Manny Machado’s double to center.
Tatis also singled in the first.
Oakland's Abraham Toro homered on Randy Vásquez's first pitch. Toro has hit both of Oakland's leadoff homers this year. The other was on April 19 at Cleveland. It was his sixth homer of the season.
Vásquez held the A's to one run and seven hits in five innings, struck out five and walked two.
Sears allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings, walked three and struck out one.
UP NEXT
Athletics RHP Hogan Harris (0-0, 2.21 ERA) and Padres RHP Michael King (5-4, 3.58) are scheduled to start the series finale Wednesday.
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