Jake

Cronenworth

The homer off Landon Knack was Cronenworth’s first of September and fifth in 76 games after he hit 12 in his first 75 games. Any sort of turnaround from him would be big for the Padres in October.

Cronenworth put the Padres on the board early, taking Shane Baz deep for a two-run blast in the first inning. He later added a double in the seventh. The home run was his 16th of the season and just the third in the second half. The 30-year-old infielder is slashing .248/.322/.408 with 67 runs scored and 78 RBI across 563 plate appearances.

The 30-year-old infielder will get a breather with left-hander David Peterson toeing the slab for the Mets on Saturday night. Luis Arraez will cover first base for the Padres on Saturday while Donovan Solano functions as the club’s designated hitter and will bat fifth.

Cronenworth kicked off the scoring with a tone-setting three-run tater off Pirates starter Mitch Keller in the opening frame. It was his 15th round-tripper of the season and also snapped a 20-game homerless drought. The 30-year-old’s multi-positional versatility is appealing for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues and he’s been a mainstay in the heart of San Diego’s lineup, which has helped from a counting stats perspective.

Cronenworth will get a rare night off with left-hander Clayton Kershaw taking the mound for the Dodgers. Donovan Solano will start in his place at first base and will bat fifth for the Padres on Wednesday evening in San Diego.

Cronenworth drove in a pair with his blast in the eighth to extend San Diego’s lead to 7-0. The 30-year-old also drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning. Cronenworth has homered 14 times in 2024 with 58 RBI while hitting a respectable .260/.328/.438.

He’ll take a seat against left-hander Chris Sale. Jake Cronenworth will play first base and Donovan Solano will serve as the DH as the Padres go with a righty-heavy lineup.

We wonder how Cronenworth feels about the Padres essentially taking him out of the mix for an All-Star nod by listing him at first base and Luis Arraez at second base on the ballot. Arraez went on to make the team at the much weaker position, and Cronenworth is staying home despite being the better hitter of the two this year and easily the more valuable defender. That’s not to say Cronenworth necessarily would have made the team at second — Brice Turang probably had the better argument behind starter Ketel Marte — but he certainly wasn’t going to as a first baseman.

Cronenworth and Manny Machado combined for nine hits on Friday, which is a large number. The infielder hit his 12th homer of the season in the sixth off Colin Rea. The five knocks for Cronenworth give him seven in the last two games, and he’s seen his average rise from .251 to .266. The 30-year-old has been streaky for the majority of his career, and he appears to be on the right side of that right now.

Payamps couldn’t possibly have made a worse 3-2 pitch, and Cronenworth deposited the breaking ball 355 feet down the right field line for his 11th homer of the year. That’s one more in 74 games this season than he had in 127 games last year Cronenworth had been in a little 2-for-24 slump since his previous homer on June 11.