Jake Cronenworth had a big day Sunday. File photo by Chris Stone
The Padres will head home on a winning note thanks to Sunday’s 6-4 win in extra innings against the Milwaukee Brewers.
It’s a good thing, as they welcome the NL East-leading New York Mets to town Monday, to begin a seven-game home stand at Petco Park.
They closed out the four-game set with the Brewers by winning three straight, after dropping the first four games of the short road trip, in which they faced the best of the NL Central.
Starter Mike Clevinger returned Sunday, and the Padres chose to ease him back in, as he went three innings, giving up one run – a first-inning homer to Kolton Wong – with five strikeouts.
Manager Bob Melvin told MLB,com, he threw “one center and ends up giving a homer. But it certainly didn’t affect him. I thought he pitched really well after that.”
Coming up after your regularly scheduled 9 inning programing…
Episode one of The Crone Zone: Extra-innings. pic.twitter.com/ByDZtN6pQz
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 5, 2022
The Padres put three on the board in the fifth, on singles by Jurickson Profar and Jake Cronenworth, along with an RBI groundout by Luke Voit. But the Brewers caught up in the 8th on Wong’s second homer of the game, this time a two-run shot.
In the 10th though, Cronenworth, who has struggled this season, concluded his big day with authority, hitting a three-run homer to right to put the Padres up 6-3. The Brewers tagged Taylor Rogers for one run in their half of the 10th, but he closed it out to post his 18th save.
The Friars are set to send Blake Snell – he will face Carlos Carrasco, 6-1 on the year – Yu Darvish and Sean Manaea to the mound against the Mets.