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Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. returns in win over Tigers after leg injury ahead of playoff push

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Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. returns in win over Tigers after leg injury ahead of playoff push

Fernando Tatis returned to the field on Monday afternoon for the first time since June 21. (Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)

Fernando Tatis Jr. is back.

The San Diego Padres activated their star outfielder on Monday ahead of their matchup with the Detroit Tigers. The game was Tatis’ first since June 21.

Tatis went hitless in his four at bats in the Padres’ 3-0 win. He grounded out twice, fouled out and struck out in the loss, but he received a huge ovation when he was announced and took the field.

“That was amazing. Amazing, man,” Tatis said after the game, via The Associated Press. “The fans were incredible. Just amazing energy all the way around. Like I mentioned earlier, just happy to be back with the boys and just great W all the way around.

Tatis had been battling a stress reaction in his right thigh. He landed on the 10-day injured list after dealing with tightness in his leg for a few weeks, which he later revealed had been bothering him for nearly the entire season, and he was hit in the elbow by a pitch the Milwaukee Brewers‘ Colin Rea in his final game, which left him with a triceps bruise.

Tatis was officially placed on the injured list on June 22. He has been recovering ever since, and he was working out at the team’s spring training complex in Arizona last week.

“I’m in a really good place right now,” Tatis said before the game, via The Associated Press. “I feel like I can do anything out there on the baseball field.”

Tatis enters Monday’s game with a .279 batting average, 14 home runs and 36 RBI in 80 games this season. The team brought in Bryce Johnson to help replace Tatis, and Johnson was optioned to their Triple-A affiliate on Monday.

The Padres hold a 79-61 record after Monday’s win over Detroit, which kicked off a three-game series and a six-game homestand for San Diego. The Padres are up a single game over the Arizona Diamondbacks in second in the NL West, though they trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by five games in the division standings.

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