Tingler: Tatis peeking talk 'ridiculous'

Jayce Tingler finally had his say on allegations that Fernando Tatis Jr. was peeking at signs put down by Dodgers catcher Will Smith during Saturday's game in Los Angeles.

And the Padres skipper had plenty to say:

"I think there's a lot of internet detectives that love to look at stuff in slo-mo," Tingler started. "Did you look at his last 20 at-bats? Did you play it live speed? Did he see a sign?

"Honestly, I think it's ridiculous."

Tatis set a record for a visiting player at Dodger Stadium by hitting five home runs in a three-game span over the weekend. He made highlight reels, too, for his theatrical celebrations -- taking a couple of Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer's trademark celebrations and making them his own.

A day later, however, those celebrations took a bit of a back seat when a fan tweeted a video of Tatis' second homer off Bauer that claimed to show Tatis peeking at Smith's sign before the pitch. In the video, Tatis lowers his head before the pitch, though it's impossible to decipher where, exactly, his gaze goes.

The video came to light after the Padres' pregame media availability on Sunday, and the team was off Monday, leaving a gap between the video gaining notoriety and Tingler being asked about it.

"It's fun to hit slow motion and say, 'this happened,'" Tingler said. "That's just not the reality."

After the video was released, Bauer tweeted at Tatis, telling him to "ask daddy nicely" if he wanted to know the sign. Tatis quickly responded with a photoshopped photo of himself holding a baby with Bauer’s face on it. The tweet read, "tranquilo hijo" which translates to "take it easy, my son" in Spanish.

Both Bauer and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said they viewed the possibility of Tatis looking at signs as disrespectful. Bauer broke down the at-bat in a video on his blog, saying:

"That is disrespecting your opponent, look at their signs, stuff like that. Whereas the bat flips and celebrating with your teammates is fine, in my opinion."

Except, Tingler said, Tatis was never peeking in the first place.

"Guys are allowed to have their opinions," Tingler said. "Trevor has certainly never been shy to express his. I certainly respect that. I know 100 percent [Tatis] is not peeking at signs. He's not doing that. People have their opinions and they have their right to express those. I know deep down that's not what he was doing."

Lamet set to take next step

Padres right-hander Dinelson Lamet will face hitters on Wednesday in Arizona prior to the Padres' game against the D-backs. Lamet landed on the injured list with right forearm inflammation after exiting his first start in the second inning.

Lamet missed the postseason last year because of a strained right UCL, and the Padres were cautious in his build-up to game action this season. His early exit on Wednesday was undeniably concerning, but tests done after his start revealed no structural damage, the Padres said, though Lamet did not undergo an MRI.

Lamet's forearm tightness -- which sources said was in a different area from his UCL injury and felt significantly different and more minor -- was the first setback he'd experienced in his recovery. Since then, however, Lamet has played catch and reported no lingering forearm trouble.

More injury updates

• Catcher Austin Nola, on the mend after fracturing the middle finger in his left hand, is playing games at the team's alternate site in Peoria, Ariz. Tingler had previously indicated that it was possible Nola could return for this series against the D-backs. Now, Tingler noted, "We're shooting for the Giants, but we're not going to rule anything out." The Padres play three games against San Francisco beginning Friday night.

• Left fielder Tommy Pham, who exited Sunday's game against the Dodgers with a left calf strain, was available to pinch-hit off the bench for Tuesday's game against the D-backs, Tingler said.

• Right fielder Wil Myers, who has been battling right patellar tendinitis, was back in the lineup on Tuesday night. Tingler said Myers has been feeling good lately, and his absence on Sunday was scheduled -- but perhaps also an effort to use Monday’s off-day to give his knee a couple days of rest.