A loud cheer accompanied the announcement of his name with the Padres' starting lineup. Then as the team took the field for the top of the first inning, he saluted fans in right field and smacked his glove in excitement.
Fernando Tatis Jr. is back.
"A lot of butterflies I'll say," Tatis told reporters after the game. "I love this city, I love every single fan of San Diego and everything we do over here is for them."
The Padres beat Detroit 3-0 in Tatis' return. An 0-for-4 night at the plate doing little to dampen the spirits of the All-Star right fielder.
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"It was amazing, amazing," Tatis said. "The fans were incredible, just amazing energy all the way around. Just happy to be back with the boys, and great 'W' all the way around."
Luis Arraez had two hits and drove in two runs to fuel the win.
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Joe Musgrove tossed six shutout innings with eight strikeouts. For Musgrove it was his third straight quality start. In five starts since returning from the injured list Musgrove has posted a 1.30 ERA over 27.2 innings.
After missing more than two months - 59 games in total - the Padres activated Tatis ahead of Monday's series opener against Detroit. Tatis was placed on the injured list June 24 because of a stress reaction in his right femur. The club later moved him to the 60-Day IL.
"It's not 100 percent, but I've been cleared from the doctors," Tatis said pregame. "I feel good moving forward. I feel really confident and I feel like I can do anything out on the baseball field."
Tatis had an All-Star campaign before being sidelined. The 25-year-old right fielder was batting .279 with an .821 OPS. He had 14 home runs and had driven in 36 runs.
The Padres were 40-40 after his last game, but despite Tatis, Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish missing extensive time the club managed to go on a hot streak. Mike Shildt's team went 38-21 in Tatis' absence.
Shildt announced after Monday's win that Darvish will start Wednesday. It will be his first appearance since May 29. The veteran righty went on the restricted list in early June to attend to a personal matter.
"What I miss the most is just being out there with this team on the field." Tatis added. "It's a really special group and when you see talent like that you just want to join and add a little bit to what this special group has been doing. I'm just excited for that."
