SAN DIEGO -- A year ago, Jake Cronenworth might not have come to the plate at all.
For a second straight day, the Padres and Braves staged a back-and-forth thriller on Friday at Petco Park. Again, the game hung in the balance into the final innings. With the score tied entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the lefty-hitting Cronenworth was due up against left-hander Dylan Lee.
There are lots of things Cronenworth does well. He¡¯s an excellent defender. He¡¯s versatile. He works ferociously tough at-bats. But, in 2024 at least, hitting left-handed pitching was a challenge.
Speaking afterward to a smattering of reporters who¡¯d brought up those struggles, Cronenworth made this much clear: ¡°It¡¯s a new year, guys,¡± he said.
A new year -- and quite a start for Cronenworth in reversing that trend. His go-ahead solo home run off Lee proved decisive in a 4-3 Padres victory and their first 2-0 start since 2021. Lee hung a 1-0 slider, and Cronenworth deposited it into the right-field deck. With one swing, he equaled his home run total against left-handers from the entirety of the ¡¯24 season.
¡°Another gritty game,¡± said Padres manager Mike Shildt. ¡°The grit squad posted -- that¡¯s what we do. But, yeah, it¡¯s good for Jake. He had some good at-bats against lefties in Spring Training. I just like overall where he¡¯s at. He doesn¡¯t try to do too much, just puts a nice good stroke on it. Big swing for us.¡±
Big swing for Cronenworth, too. Much has been made about his struggles against left-handed pitching. He batted just .203 with a .531 OPS against lefties in 2024.
¡°Again,¡± Cronenworth said, with the exasperated smile of a player who knows those numbers all too well, ¡°that was last year,¡± and he proceeded to point out that for most of the rest of his career, those splits have been relatively even.
Translation: Cronenworth is out to prove a point about those left-on-left numbers. Yes, he struggled last season. So much so that the Padres often used righty pinch-hitter Donovan Solano in those spots. So much so that it¡¯s worth wondering if Cronenworth would have kept his starting job against lefties down the stretch if Ha-Seong Kim had remained healthy.
But, again, that was last year.
This year, the Padres have a couple solid righty-hitting options on their bench -- including Jose Iglesias, who boasts a similar offensive profile to Solano. But with question marks in the bottom third of their lineup, they have a greater need there for those righty bench bats.
Which means Cronenworth is probably going to get a greater share of crucial at-bats against left-handed pitching this year. Which means he¡¯s going to get a chance to prove himself in spots like Friday night -- with the game on the line and Petco Park buzzing.
¡°Jake doesn¡¯t make the situation bigger than it is,¡± Shildt said. ¡°A lot of our guys have that ability. Again, Jake had a nice year last year for us. But I¡¯ve really liked his easy demeanor in the box all spring. He¡¯s just been spraying balls all over the ballpark -- righties, lefties, doesn¡¯t matter.¡±
That last part is a point Cronenworth is trying to prove. Of course, even when he isn¡¯t hitting much against left-handed pitching, Cronenworth brings plenty of value to the lineup because of his excellent glove. He¡¯s not going to sit often.
Sure enough, Cronenworth was in the starting lineup on Opening Day against Chris Sale, arguably the toughest lefty in the National League. His quest to change that lefty-lefty narrative didn¡¯t get off to much of a start, when he went 0-for-4 in the opener. But ¡
¡°[Sale] won the Cy Young last year for a reason,¡± Cronenworth said. ¡°He¡¯s tough.¡±
Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the game with a laser of a homer. Dylan Cease pitched 4 1/3 solid innings. Atlanta¡¯s Jarred Kelenic hit a game-tying home run in the fifth, and the game turned into a battle of the bullpens.
For the second straight day, the San Diego ¡®pen was better. The Padres¡¯ four highest leverage relievers -- Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam and Robert Suarez -- all pitched scoreless ball. Meanwhile, after Lee worked a scoreless seventh, Braves manager Brian Snitker asked for one more batter: Cronenworth.
You couldn¡¯t possibly argue with the decision based on all available data from last season.
But -- as Cronenworth would quickly make clear -- that was last season.