(Photo credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images)

Fernando Tatis Jr. collected two soft singles in a game earlier this week that San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen thought were as solid as gold.

'Two hits,' Stammen said. 'I don't care what it looks like. It's going on the back of his (baseball) card as two hits.'

It's been that kind of season for the veteran Tatis, 27, who will keep trying to get untracked Friday night when the Padres open a three-game home series with the Athletics.

After his two-hit game in a 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, Tatis followed with a 1-for-3 night in a 4-0 loss to Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers on Wednesday. Tatis hit into a rally-quashing double play that got Ohtani out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, and his hit was an infield single in the eighth.

In his seventh MLB season, Tatis -- who won the 2021 National League home run title with 42 -- is homerless after 48 games. Only six of his 43 hits have gone for extra bases, and just three of the balls he's hit all year have traveled as far as 370 feet.

In 2025, Tatis had 12 home runs and 27 RBIs 48 games into the season and was batting .289. This season: 15 RBIs and a .239 average for the three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger.

After Wednesday's loss, Stammen said the coaching staff's role is to nurse Tatis through a stunningly long skid.

'It's up to us to talk to Fernando and be able to pat him on the back and try to teach patience to him to help him get through this struggle,' Stammen said. 'Probably the biggest struggle that he's had in his major league career at the plate.'

While Tatis aims to find the form that's marked most of his MLB career, teammate Walker Buehler (3-2, 5.01 ERA) will shoot for his third win in a row. He's coming off a 7-4 victory Saturday in Seattle, where he gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in five innings while striking out six.

Buehler will face the A's for just the second time in his career. The right-hander threw four shutout innings in his only appearance against them six years ago, striking out six and yielding just one hit.

The Athletics will counter with left-hander Jeffrey Springs (3-4, 3.93 ERA), who's coming off a 10-1 loss Sunday to the San Francisco Giants in West Sacramento, Calif. Springs yielded five hits and two runs (one earned) in six innings, with a walk and three strikeouts.

In three career outings against San Diego, Springs is 1-1 with an 8.31 ERA, with the win occurring in April 2025 in West Sacramento.

While the Padres dropped two of three games at home to the Dodgers this week, the A's made the bus ride down Interstate 5 from Anaheim after taking three of four from the Los Angeles Angels. That included a 3-2, 10-inning win in Thursday night's series finale as Zack Gelof's fielder's choice grounder brought in the tie-breaking run.

It was the A's 14th comeback win of the year. They have built a strong offense based primarily on young talent, ranking in the top 10 in batting average (.249), on-base percentage (.329) and slugging percentage (.397).

Manager Mark Kotsay said there's more in the tank than the team has displayed through 50 games.

'We still have a lot of room for improvement, which is encouraging,' he said. 'Especially on the offensive side.'

San Diego has won eight of the teams' past nine meetings.

--Field Level Media--Field Level Media