Braves Fall 4-3 to Padres as Cronenworth’s Late Homer Sinks Atlanta

The Atlanta Braves dropped a 4-3 decision to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Friday night.

Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth each homered for the Padres, with Cronenworth’s go-ahead shot in the eighth inning proving to be the decisive blow.

Tatis, who has batted leadoff in the first two games of the series, started the scoring with a leadoff home run off Braves starter Reynaldo López.

The homer, which landed in left-center field, marked Tatis’ 12th career leadoff home run, extending his club record.

San Diego extended its lead to 2-0 in the second inning thanks to Martin Maldonado’s RBI single, but the Braves responded quickly.

In the third, Marcell Ozuna tied the game with a two-out single to right, bringing home Atlanta’s first run.

Both teams traded leads throughout the game. Xander Bogaerts’ two-out RBI double gave San Diego the lead again.

However, Atlanta responded with a leadoff home run from Jarred Kelenic, who launched the ball into the right-field corner to tie the game at 3.

The Braves could not hold off the Padres in the eighth inning.

Cronenworth led off the frame with a deep home run off Dylan Lee, who was charged with the loss, putting San Diego ahead 4-3.

Jason Adam (1-0) earned the win for the Padres after pitching a perfect eighth inning, striking out three and walking one.

Robert Suarez secured his second save of the season with a flawless ninth, despite being hit on the leg by a comebacker earlier in the inning.

The Braves’ defense kept them in the game at several points, including a key play in the sixth inning.

With Ozuna on third base and two outs, a comebacker from Drake Baldwin appeared to strike Padres reliever Adrian Morejon in the backside.

However, Morejon recovered in time to make the throw to first, keeping the game tied.

Padres prospect Jackson Merrill, a 2024 NL Rookie of the Year finalist, continued his strong performance, recording a three-hit game.

Merrill, who drove in four runs in Thursday’s win, kept his bat hot on Friday.

The Braves will look to bounce back on Saturday, with right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach scheduled to start against Padres righty Randy Vásquez.