Jake Cronenworth struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the sixth inning.
He wasn’t going to come up empty again.
The Padres' second baseman avenged an early missed opportunity with a single in the same situation in the 10th inning, sending the Padres to a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers to start the final homestand before the All-Star break.
The Padres are hopeful that this win wasn't preceded by a significant loss.
Moments before Cronenworth's walk-off in front of a sellout crowd of 45,114, Xander Bogaerts grabbed his right hamstring after swinging and missing at a first-pitch changeup. Bogaerts was attended to by a trainer for several moments before leaving the game for the second time in five days due to cramping.
Pretty nasty cramp," Padres manager Mike Shildt said. "Knotted up on him. Tried to get it to relax. Doesn't sound like it's hamstring-related, but it's happening a little more frequently, so we've got to do the proverbial deep dive to figure out what that looks like.
It was quad cramping that forced Bogaerts from the ninth inning on June 29 in Cincinnati. He did not miss any additional time and was hopeful that would be the case this time as well.
Friday's issue occurred without any warning.
That's why it was a little weird," Bogaerts said. "I hadn't felt one thing before the whole day and after the swing ... I could barely walk. (But) ... I'm good now.
Bryce Johnson completed Bogaerts' at-bat in the 10th inning and struck out on two pitches, bringing Cronenworth to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded.
Against a left-hander, too.
Just like in the sixth inning after Luis Arraez's game-tying single.
At that point, Padres manager Mike Shildt still had the right-handed-hitting Jose Iglesias in his holster — someone he's used in similar spots on occasion — and elected to stick with Cronenworth against left-hander Hoby Milner.
In the 10th, Iglesias had already flied out as a pinch-hitter for Martin Maldonado in the ninth, so the only option was to stick with Cronenworth.
The two-time All-Star came through this time, pulling a 2-1 slider from left-hander Robert Garcia into right field for his fifth walk-off hit at Petco Park.
Only Will Venable, with six, has more in the history of the Padres' East Village park.
“It’s not too often you get an opportunity again with the bases loaded to win the game,” Cronenworth said.
He added: "I think I get the best out of myself in those bigger spots. I think it's something I thrive in, in those positions. I just want to help the team win."
The walk-off ensured the Padres got something from a stellar day on the mound from the staff.
Randy Vásquez allowed only Marcus Semien's two-run double in the second inning over six quality innings. Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, and Robert Suarez each pitched scoreless innings, and Adrián Morejón left the automatic runner and a walk on base in the 10th inning, giving a struggling offense one more chance at victory.
An intentional walk to Manny Machado — sitting just three hits shy of 2,000 after homering in a two-hit day — started the rally, and Gavin Sheets' soft, one-out single to center loaded the bases.
Before that, the Padres spent much of Friday afternoon trying to erase Semien's two-run double.
Machado's 440-foot home run to center field in the third inning brought the Padres halfway there. Then, in the sixth inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a triple off the glove of right fielder Adolis Garcia to lead off the inning and eventually scored on a single by Luis Arraez through the left side of the infield, tying the game.
The pitching staff might have had a little more room to breathe if Trenton Brooks hadn't been erased at second base in the fifth inning on a technicality.
The 30-year-old journeyman roped a 102 mph ball off the right-field wall with one out and slid into second base ahead of shortstop Corey Seager’s tag. Seager, however, kept his glove on Brooks as he popped up from his slide and was awarded an out after a delayed replay review showed that the Padres' designated hitter lost contact with the bag for just a moment.
In fact, that was likely Shildt's argument as he discussed the overturned call with crew chief Alan Porter after the review in New York removed Brooks from second base.
A manager must raise a hand immediately after a play to signal a potential challenge, starting a 15-second window to make a decision.
After Brooks' "double" — which was later scored a single — Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and his bench appeared to struggle to get the attention of plate umpire Alex MacKay.
That prompted a discussion with Shildt before the play was sent to New York and after the safe call on the field was overturned.
Managers are typically automatically ejected immediately after arguing a decision from New York.
“I think they did the right thing by allowing me to have the conversation so I didn’t get ejected,” Shildt said. “… They have hard jobs, man. I’m not going to be that guy that just piles on them when I have an opportunity. Fact of the matter is (Bochy) was looking to make a challenge, he was doing it right and they were able to challenge it.”
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