Tatis homers twice as Padres beat Cubs 10-4 to improve to 11-0 at home

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. homered twice and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch as the San Diego Padres improved to 11-0 at home by beating the Chicago Cubs 10-4 on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series between National League division leaders.

The Padres have the best record in the majors at 14-3.

Tatis hit a solo homer with two outs in the third inning, scored the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch in a three-run seventh and then hit a two-run shot in the eighth. He has six home runs overall — tying seven other players for the big league lead — and five in his last six games. It was his 12th career multi-homer game.

Luis Arraez also homered in the eighth, his second, to give the Padres their first back-to-back homers this season.

The Cubs took a 3-1 lead in the fourth. Michael Busch hit a two-run homer off Dylan Cease, his fourth, after Justin Turner reached on a fielding error by third baseman Manny Machado. Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit consecutive doubles with one out.

Busch's homer ended a 37-inning scoreless streak by San Diego's pitching staff, dating to the third inning Wednesday at the Athletics. The Padres shut out the Colorado Rockies in a three-game weekend series.

The Padres tied it in the sixth and then went ahead in the seventh. Tatis drew a leadoff walk, advanced on Arraez's double and, after Machado was intentionally walked, raced home on a wild pitch by Nate Pearson (0-1) for a 4-3 lead. Gavin Sheets then hit a two-run single.

Adrian Morejon (1-0) got the win.

The Padres caught a break in their two-run sixth when Sheets' pop fly fell between left fielder Ian Happ and shortstop Dansby Swanson with one out.

Tatis broke a tie with Adrian Gonzalez and is now second all-time at Petco Park with 67 homers. Machado has 91.

Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (2-1, 2.70 ERA) and Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (1-1, 1.72) are scheduled to start Tuesday night.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Taillon delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch (29), right, is congratulated by Justin Turner (3) after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch watches his two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Chicago Cubs' Miguel Amaya hits a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23), center, and Manny Machado (13), left, high-five after two-runs scored during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Gavin Sheets (30) points to first base after scoring during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado (13) scores ahead of the throw to Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya (9) during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Luis Arraez (4), right, is congratulated by Gavin Sheets (30) after hitting a solo home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Luis Arraez, right, is congratulated by Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) after hitting a solo home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. watches his solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. hits a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., right, is congratulated by Manny Machado, left, after hitting a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. looks skyward after hitting a solo home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) is hit with a pitch during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) hits a two-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Monday, April 14, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)