Jake Cronenworth hit a double and scored twice to lead the visiting San Diego Padres past the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 on Saturday night.
Five batters were hit by pitches in the game, which led to a brief benches-clearing skirmish in the ninth inning after Padres slugger Manny Machado was plunked for the second time in the game.
Padres starter Randy Vasquez held the Cardinals to one run on one hit in 4 2/3 innings. Adrian Morejon threw a scoreless inning, Jeremiah Estrada (4-4) blanked the Cardinals for 1 1/3 innings, and Jason Adam handled the eighth inning.
Robert Suarez closed out the game for his 30th save.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (6-8) allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out three.
The Padres took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. After being hit by a pitch, Cronenworth came around to score on Bryce Johnson’s single and center fielder Victor Scott II’s error.
The Cardinals answered in their half of the inning. Nolan Arenado walked and scored on Jordan Walker’s double to tie the game 1-1.
San Diego moved ahead 2-1 in the fourth inning. Cronenworth hit a double, took third on a groundout and scored on Johnson’s bunt.
Vasquez hit Willson Contreras with a pitch in the fourth inning. When Liberatore hit Machado with a pitch in the fifth inning, the umpires warned both teams about further retaliation.
San Diego made 3-1 in the ninth inning. Johnson led off with a double, moved to third on a bunt and scored on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s groundout.
Two batters later, reliever Andre Granillo brought players from both teams onto the field by hitting Machado with a pitch. Machado had confrontation with Cardinals coach Jon Jay, who earned an ejection, but the incident deescalated after some pushing and shoving.
–Field Level Media
