Padres win third straight with 7-1 victory over D-backs, look forward to potential Arráez addition

AP

PHOENIX (AP) Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth hit back-to-back homers, Dylan Cease pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and the San Diego Padres won their third game in a row, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-1 on Friday night.

Manny Machado hit a two-run homer. Cronenworth finished with three extra-base hits, adding two doubles.

The Padres had a big offensive game on the same night they learned they might be adding another good hitter. San Diego is close to acquiring two-time batting champion Luis Arráez in a deal with the Marlins.

“I think it’s great – you’re always looking for more offense and a left-handed bat to balance out the lineup,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “But listen, nothing’s official. We’ll leave it at that.”

The Diamondbacks have lost 10 straight series openers after beating the Colorado Rockies on opening day.

D-backs pitcher Slade Cecconi (1-2) retired the first nine batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the fourth. Jurickson Profar walked to start the inning and Tatis launched a shot to left-center – his seventh homer of the season.

Cronenworth followed with another homer to make it 3-0 and rookie Jackson Merrill broke an 0-for-20 stretch at the plate with a one-out RBI double for a 4-0 lead.

Cronenworth had a down 2023 season, but has looked much more like the hitter who was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022 through the first month of this season. He’s batting .279 with six homers and 25 RBIs.

It was Cronenworth’s second straight game with a homer. He hit a grand slam in the team’s 6-2 victory over the Reds on Wednesday.

“It’s the right approach with the right swing,” Shildt said. “He’s married both. He’s driving the ball to all different parts of the field and not trying to do to much.”

Cecconi didn’t make it out of the fifth, giving up six runs over 4 1/3 innings.

The Padres’ three-homer outburst provided plenty of support for Cease (4-2), the hard-throwing right-hander who gave up just one run on three hits while striking out eight. He didn’t allow a walk.

“I think my fastball command was a lot better, which is really a lot of the battle,” Cease said. “When I’m getting my fastball where it needs to go, it opens up a lot of stuff.”

Machado made it 7-0 in the fifth with a two-run homer to left center off reliever Matt Bowman. The scorched line drive came off Machado’s bat at 111.7 mph.

The sliding D-backs – defending National League champions – have lost 10 of their past 15 games and fell to 14-19 for the season.

“We got beat tonight,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “We got out-managed, we got out-pitched, we got out-hit, we got out-coached. We’ve got to find a way to get the job done and play our type of baseball. That’s the bottom line.

“We’re grinding away. We’re trying.”

Arizona finished with just three hits. Eugenio Suárez had an RBI single in the fifth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Diamondbacks: Lovullo told reporters that closer Paul Sewald (oblique) and OF Alex Thomas (hamstring) could return to the active roster as soon as Tuesday against the Reds.

UP NEXT

The D-backs will throw RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-1, 4.63 ERA) while the Padres will counter with RHP Michael King (2-3, 5.00 ERA) on Saturday night.

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

Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

123456789RHE
Padres17-180004300007120
Diamondbacks14-19000010000130
  • Chase FieldPhoenix, AZ
  • W: D. Cease (4-2)L: S. Cecconi (1-2)S: (0)
  • HR: SD – F. Tatis (6), M. Machado (4), J. Cronenworth (5)

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Padres

Diamondbacks

HITTERSABRHRBIAVG
J. Profar LF3100.333
J. Azocar LF1000.300
F. Tatis RF5233.246
J. Cronenworth 1B5131.279
M. Machado DH4212.250
X. Bogaerts 2B5010.216
J. Merrill CF4011.269
L. Campusano C4010.267
H. Kim SS4000.211
T. Wade 3B4120.246
HITTERSABRHRBIAVG
P. Smith RF4000.200
L. Gurriel LF4000.238
K. Marte 2B3010.308
C. Walker 1B3000.269
J. Pederson DH3110.318
E. Suarez 3B3011.235
G. Moreno C3000.229
C. Carroll CF3000.192
B. Alexander SS3000.299

BATTING

  • 2B – J. Cronenworth 2 (9), X. Bogaerts (4), J. Merrill (4)
  • HR – F. Tatis (7), J. Cronenworth (6), M. Machado (5)
  • RBI – F. Tatis 3 (20), J. Cronenworth (25), M. Machado 2 (18), J. Merrill (13)
  • 2-Out RBI – M. Machado 2 (2)
  • Runners left in scoring position, 2-Out – J. Azocar, X. Bogaerts 3 (3), J. Merrill, H. Kim

BATTING

  • 2B – K. Marte (12), J. Pederson (7)
  • RBI – E. Suarez (19)
  • Runners left in scoring position, 2-Out – C. Walker

FIELDING

  • DP – (Bogaerts-Kim-Cronenworth)
PITCHERSIPHERBBSOERA
D. Cease(W, 4-2)6.231082.55
J. Estrada1.100010.00
J. Brito1.000014.11
PITCHERSIPHERBBSOERA
S. Cecconi(L, 1-2)4.156244.96
M. Bowman1.221002.89
J. Martinez2.040041.13
S. McGough1.010016.00

PITCHING

  • Pitches-Strikes – D. Cease 102-65, J. Estrada 17-11, J. Brito 9-6
  • Ground Balls-Fly Balls – D. Cease 6-3, J. Estrada 1-2, J. Brito 1-1
  • Batters Faced – D. Cease 22, J. Estrada 4, J. Brito 3

PITCHING

  • Pitches-Strikes – S. Cecconi 85-55, M. Bowman 30-19, J. Martinez 41-31, S. McGough 15-10
  • Ground Balls-Fly Balls – S. Cecconi 7-6, M. Bowman 0-3, J. Martinez 3-1, S. McGough 0-1
  • Batters Faced – S. Cecconi 20, M. Bowman 7, J. Martinez 10, S. McGough 4

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