Jake Cronenworth hits walk-off home run to beat Brewers

SAN DIEGO — Another game, another walk-off home run for the Padres at Petco Park.

With two outs in the ninth inning Thursday night, Jake Cronenworth turned on a 3-2 fastball from Milwaukee’s Joel Payamps and sent it deep into the right-field seats, sending the Padres to a series-opening 7-6 victory over the Brewers.

Of course, they’d concluded their last homestand with walk-off home runs from Kyle Higashioka and Jackson Merrill, making it three walk-off blasts in three tries.

Manny Machado and Merrill went back-to-back in the bottom of the first, making the Brewers pay for a costly mistake. With one out in the inning, Cronenworth hit what appeared to be a surefire double-play ball. But Brewers second baseman Brice Turang briefly booted it and would settle for a mere forceout at second base.

Machado promptly followed with a three-run blast into the porch area in right. One batter later, Merrill launched his sixth home run in eight games. The only center fielder with six home runs in an eight-game span at a younger age than Merrill? Willie Mays in 1951. (Frank Robinson also accomplished the feat but played left field for two of those games.)

Fernando Tatis Jr. added a moonshot with San Diego clinging to a one-run lead in the fifth. At a Statcast-projected 446 feet, it was the longest Padres home run of the season. Jeremiah Estrada surrendered a pair of runs in the ninth, allowing the Brewers to tie the game. But that only set the stage for Cronenworth’s heroics.