PICKING UP THE SLACK
Cronenworth, Grisham come through with HRs, Kim delivers two RBIs
The Padres’ everyday shortstop still has not been cleared to swing a bat. Their third baseman was laid up on the training table on Monday in hopes that his sprained left ankle would not send him to the injured list. The guys left in the lineup spent a good chunk of the afternoon explaining how they could continue to survive without their most feared hitters.
“It’s tough to be those two guys,” Jake Cronenworth said, “but the guys who’ve stepped up in those roles have done a great job for us.”
There were a few of those guys on Monday.
Cronenworth and Trent Grisham homered and Ha-Seong Kim drove in two runs as the Padres’ temporary third baseman, propping up Yu Darvish as he played stopper with yet another quality start in a 4-1 win over the Diamondbacks in front of a crowd of 35,430 at Petco Park.
The victory came on the heels of a three-game sweep at Coors Field in which the most significant loss of all appeared to be Manny Machado having to be helped off the field on Sunday with a left ankle sprain.
A day later, Kim slid over to third base to hold down the fort while Machado is out, not unlike starting the season as the Padres’ everyday shortstop while Fernando Tatis Jr. rehabs a fractured wrist.
“I know these are superstars,” Kim said through translater Leo Bae. “I know what I can do best. I’m not trying to put pressure on myself to be like them, but just be myself, go out there, do what I do best and just do my job.”
Kim did that Monday, stepping to the plate in the second inning with two outs and runners on second and third and lining a single to center to give the Padres a 3-1 lead. He has hits in five of his last six games, driving in five runs in that span, although none perhaps as important as Monday’s two-run single.