Rookie left-hander MacKenzie Gore scattered three singles over six scoreless innings and Jake Cronenworth drove in three runs with a homer and a double as the visiting San Diego Padres shutout Milwaukee for the second consecutive game with a 4-0 victory on Saturday.
Gore (4-1) matched his career high with 10 strikeouts and walked three. Gore allowed only one runner to reach second when Alex Jackson singled with two outs in the fifth and Kolten Wong walked. He then struck out Andrew McCutchen.
Gore, the third overall pick in the 2017 draft, has allowed just one run in his last 22 innings, including three starts, lowering his ERA to 1.50.
Milwaukee, which finished with six hits, got consecutive one-out singles in the eighth against Luis Garcia, but Keston Hiura struck out for the fourth time and Lorenzo Cain bounced into a force out.
Taylor Rogers, who allowed four ninth-inning runs in the Brewers 5-4 comeback victory in the series opener, finished with a perfect ninth.
On Friday night, the Brewers managed just one hit, Kolten Wong’s double with two outs in the eighth off starter Joe Musgrove, in a 7-0 loss.
Cronenworth put the Padres in front 4-0 in the fifth with a two-run homer off starter Aaron Ashby (1-4). Jose Azocar and Trent Grisham opened with consecutive singles. Azocar scored on Jurickson Profar’s ground out to second to make it 2-0. Cronenworth then sent a 1-1 pitch 361 feet to right for his fourth homer.
Ashby allowed four runs on six hits in six innings, striking out nine and walking none.
San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the third. Grisham led off with a single to the left side against the shift. Sergio Alcantara bounced into an apparent double play, but was ruled safe at first upon review. After Profar flied out, Cronenworth sliced an RBI double down the left-field line.
–Field Level Media