Needing a spark, the San Diego Padres got just that from Jake Cronenworth on Saturday.
Cronenworth launched a pair of home runs to give him the first two-homer game of his career as the Padres smacked their way to a 10-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. The win lifted the Padres back to the .500 mark (8-8) and instantly established the contest as The Jake Cronenworth Game moving forward.
Coming back into the lineup after a day off and wanting to shrug off a slow start to the campaign, slashing .196/.321/.326 in his first 57 plate appearances of the season, Cronenworth's two-homer, six-RBI game easily boosted his season totals of one and two, respectively, in those departments.
After signing a seven-year, $80 million extension at the start of the season, Padres fans have been waiting to see Cronenworth establish himself again in 2023. On Saturday, that's exactly what happened.
CRONE THE KING 👑
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 15, 2023
A 2-run shot grabs the lead for the Padres!
📺: MIL vs SD on FS1 pic.twitter.com/wkCBytqE8r
Jake Cronenworth boosts San Diego Padres in a number of ways in victory over Milwaukee Brewers
It wasn't just the long ball where Cronenworth did his damage against the Brewers. He had a first-inning RBI single and also joined Nelson Cruz in drawing a bases-loaded walk in the eighth, victimizing former Padres reliever Javy Guerra, who issued three walks while recording just one out.
Cronenworth and Cruz doing damage was a good sign for the Padres, highlighting a pair of players at opposite ends of the early-season spectrum at the plate.
The question now becomes is this the start of a hot streak for Cronenworth or an outlier. A 3-for-4 day against Arizona on April 4 was followed by 3-for-14 stretch, so all eyes will be on him as the Brewers series winds down on Sunday and the Atlanta Braves come to Petco for a three-game series starting on Monday.