Red-hot Tatis, San Diego Padres hand slumping Oakland A’s a 6-1 loss

SAN DIEGO — Fernando Tatis Jr. homered to extend his career-best hitting streak to 16 games, the longest current streak in the majors, as the San Diego Padres beat slumping Oakland 6-1 on Monday night.

The A’s have lost nine of their last 12 games and are a season-worst 16 games under .500.

Meanwhile, San Diego’s Dylan Cease won for the first time in six starts and Jake Cronenworth also homered for the Padres, who have hit multiple homers in four straight games.

There was a three-minute delay in the bottom of the seventh when some of Petco Park’s lights went out. When play resumed, with the Padres leading 3-1, Donovan Solano drew a bases-loaded walk from A’s rookie Michel Otanez. Rookie Jackson Merrill followed with his third hit, an RBI single, and Ha-Seong Kim added a sacrifice fly.

Tatis’ team-leading 13th homer was an opposite-field shot off the top of the right field wall off Joey Estes (2-2). Tatis has reached base in a career-high 20 straight games.

“Tati, wow, that was an impressive swing, man,” manager Mike Shildt said. “It’s something you don’t see every day.”

A few weeks ago, Tatis stopped doing his stutter-step around third base on his home run trot because, he said, “I’m not swaggy now.”

With three homers in four games, his swagger is back, as is the stutter-step.

“You can tell,” Tatis said. “Since I got my confidence, since I started to do what I’m supposed to do. I understand that this game is really hard and it’s going to show you, keep making adjustments, keep learning from the game.

“This is definitely something I can do. It’s about time I show it.”

Cronenworth’s shot in the third, which tied the game at 1, was his 10th, in his 66th game. It tied his 2023 total, accomplished in 127 games.

Cease (6-5) won for the first time since May 8 at the Chicago Cubs. He allowed one run and eight hits in six innings, struck out eight and walked one.