Jake Cronenworth bats eighth against Braves' left-hander Max Fried – San Diego Union-Tribune

Jake Cronenworth can hit left handed. Hit left-handed. The biggest hit of his career was a left-handed hitter. Alex Vesia for the dagger that killed the Dodgers in the 2022 NLDS.

But he won't face lefties this year.

And the Padres don't want to put him at the top of the rankings against southpaws.

With one of the best lefties in the game Max Fried On the mound Wednesday (5:38 p.m. first pitch), Cronenworth is in eight-hole play for what could be a crucial second game against the Braves.

Win and advance to the NLDS against the Dodgers.

Lose and fight for your season against the Braves on Thursday.

Facing Fried makes Wednesday's task all the more daunting, as for some reason the left-handed hitter has given the Padres good performances all season.

Even right-handed people like it Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado And Xander Bogaerts Left-handed starters don't hit the way you'd expect:

The left-handed hitter Cronenworth's struggles against lefties have been particularly pronounced, part of a downward trend that has seen the combined OPS drop from .769 in 2021 to .714 to .666 to .531 this year.

As a result, Cronenworth has slowly fallen in the rankings against left-handers as the season has progressed.

He was anchored in the three-hole early on, regardless of the opposing pitcher's handedness. Lefties have always presented an opportunity to play for Cronenworth as well, but he reached sixth against the lefty, him and the rookie, for the first time this season on June 2nd Jackson Merrill He flipped the five- and seven-hole positions in mid-September and Cronenworth reached eighth for the first time against a left-handed hitter on September 20 Garrett Crochet.

This allowed the Padres to relocate their best left-handed matchup. Donovan Solanoto seventh and that's where Solano will strike again on Wednesday, in an otherwise straightforward lineup set by the manager Mike Schildt.

Let's go over it again 😤 pic.twitter.com/3HWclrZpwT

– San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 2, 2024

It's October. The time for tinkering is over, although he hasn't really needed to since he lost the right-hander Ha Seong Kim about his shoulder injury in mid-August.

“There’s a lot of confidence in the lineup,” Shildt said early in the series. “There are a few interchangeable parts, (but) we stick with the range of products we introduce. Obviously feel confident in it. It's a deep lineup. It's a lot of professional rackets. There's no respite there. The top is clearly good, the middle is strong and the bottom is exceptional too. It’s a very good, solid lineup that is very balanced.”

Here's how the Braves will line up for Game 2:

Game 2. #DigDeepATL pic.twitter.com/ZMllwDDr66

– Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 2, 2024

Pitching matchup on Wednesday

Braves LHP Max Fried (11-10, 3.25 ERA)

The former Padres first-rounder (read what he had to say about his time with the Padres here) ended the regular season on a high note, pitching nine over 8⅔ shutout innings and a win on Friday. Fried allowed three runs in 4⅓ innings in a loss in his only start against the Padres in Atlanta in May.

Here's how Fried fared against the current Padres in his career:

Padres RHP Joe Musgrove (6-5, 3.88 ERA)

Since coming off the injured list, he has a 2.15 ERA in nine starts and has allowed more than two earned runs twice. Musgrove hasn't played against the Braves since allowing two runs in 12⅔ innings in two starts in 2022.

Here's how he performed against the current Braves: