Right spot, right time for Cronenworth

Jake Cronenworth -- who always seems to be in just the right place at just the right time for the Padres -- crept toward the front edge of the infield dirt in the bottom of the 10th inning Wednesday night. A tense game against the Brewers hung in the balance, and Milwaukee had men on the corners, trailing by a run.

Sure, a double play would have sufficed. Milwaukee would’ve tied the game, but the basepaths would’ve been clear, and the game likely headed for an 11th inning.

Cronenworth had other ideas.

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Jackie Bradley Jr. sent a 103 mph rocket to Cronenworth’s right, where he laid out to make a ridiculous diving stop on one hop. In a split second, Cronenworth made the decision to throw home. He composed himself and fired to catcher Victor Caratini, who tagged Keston Hiura -- the decisive play in the Padres’ 2-1 victory over the Brewers at American Family Field.

“Maybe our top defensive play of the year,” said manager Jayce Tingler.

The Padres just keep finding a way, despite the fact that they haven’t had a full contingent of offensive weapons at their disposal for more than two weeks. In that time, they’ve taken hold of the best record in the Majors, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Dodgers in the National League West. Their 14th win in their past 16 games wasn’t without its share of late drama.

“The play by Cronenworth in the 10th … that was an incredible play,” said Brewers manager Craig Counsell. “That was the play of the game. It changed the outcome.”

Par for the course for Cronenworth, who seems to make a game-altering defensive gem every night. On Wednesday night, he came up with two of them.

With the Padres leading by a run in the second inning, Willy Adames sent a liner that appeared ticketed for right-center field, likely tying the game. Cronenworth -- as he always seems to be -- was there to make a spectacular leaping grab.

“I think I said, ‘Wow,’ 12 times,” said Padres starter Chris Paddack. “It was a rope up the middle, and there’s Croney. And then he’s there again in the 10th. He’s a ballplayer, man.”

After a high-scoring homestand, runs have been hard to come by all week in Milwaukee. But the Padres can play run-prevention with the best of ’em, too.

Their pitching was excellent -- six innings of one-run ball from Paddack, then a scoreless inning apiece from Tim Hill, Pierce Johnson, Austin Adams and Mark Melancon, who recorded his Major League-leading 17th save. Tommy Pham and Jurickson Profar also made excellent catches in the outfield.

“Not much offense on both sides,” Cronenworth said in his postgame interview with Bally Sports San Diego. “You’ve got to do something to win that game. Tonight, it was pitching and defense.”

Profar’s game-saving catch with two outs in the ninth inning set up a frantic finish. Caratini gave the Padres the lead with an RBI single in the 10th. Adames led off the bottom of the frame with a single of his own.

That brought Bradley to the plate, with Hiura, the automatic runner, 90 feet away. Hiura froze temporarily when Bradley made contact, uncertain whether the ball would be caught. Then, he broke for home. That split second made the difference.

“Jackie scorched that ball to him, and he made an unreal diving play,” Hiura said. “At that point it's kind of like: One, you hit it hard, you have to make sure it's on the ground, obviously. Two, you make a diving play, you don't expect him to go home.

“I went off the bat. In a different-case scenario, if it's right at him, he throws it home, I try to get in a rundown, maybe get the runners on second and third. But Cronenworth made a great play, diving after that ball and stealing a hit and saving that run.”

Cronenworth, of course, has been making headlines for his defense since AJ Pollock famously quipped that the best way to beat the Padres was to avoid hitting the ball at “that Cronenworth guy.”

He’s no longer “that Cronenworth guy.” He was the second-place finisher in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and he’s an All-Star contender this summer. Cronenworth has a .298/.367/.447 slash line, and he’s the only Padre to play in all 50 of the team’s games this season. Tingler recently moved Cronenworth into the No. 3 spot in the lineup, ahead of Fernando Tatis Jr.

“Never thought I’d hit third in the big leagues,” Cronenworth said, laughing.

Wherever he hits, his defense is his calling card. At second base, Cronenworth has been worth 4 defensive runs saved this season. At first, he’s worth 2, and he’s chipped in at shortstop, as well. On Tuesday, he was the rover in the Padres’ shift.

The one constant? No matter where the Padres put Cronenworth, he makes plays.

“He gets to balls I never assumed anybody could get to,” said Melancon, a 13-year veteran. “Happy to have him back there behind me.”