Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto orchestrate superb San Diego display as Padres pummel Yankees 5-1

Fernando Tatis Jr. had himself a night in the Bronx, toying with Yankees fans as San Diego Padres topped the New York Yankees 5-1 in the series opener. 

Tatis was taunted by the Yankees crowd with chants of ‘steroids’ referencing his 80-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. 

The Dominican answered with a 439ft home run into left field to extend the Pads’ lead to 4-0 in the top of the sixth inning.

Tatis held the bat as he watched the ball, then casually flipped it toward the Padres’ bench. 

Following the homer, Tatis gave it back to the Bronx faithful, gesturing that they had gone quiet and subsequently questioned why. 

He and superstar slugger Juan Soto (R) took San Diego to a 5-1 win amid a hostile NY crowd

Tatis was heckled throughout regarding his PED ban, but had the last laugh in the Bronx, NY.

The banter didn’t stop there with the San Diego slugger acting as a conductor, waving his fingers back and forth amid chants of ‘steroids.’

‘It’s loud. It’s New York. You’re going to hear everything,’ Tatis said postgame. ‘You’re just giving a good time to the fans. You’ve just got to learn how to embrace it.’ 

Overall, it was a great night with the traveling Padres. Juan Soto launched a 432ft bomb into the second deck of Yankee Stadium.

Soto put the Padres ahead in the fifth inning against Randy Vásquez (0-1), a 24-year-old right-hander making his big league debut. 

After Vásquez grazed Jake Cronenworth’s thigh with a pitch, Soto fouled a 1-0 cutter off his left knee and turned on a full-count cutter for his 10th home run. 

The drive to right field came off the bat at 114 mph, the Padres´ hardest-hit home run this season.