Friar Notes: Profar hitting streak stopped, but Cronenworth now at 7; Notes on Cease, Tatis, Merrill, Estrada

By Bill Center

Jurickson Profar’s eight-game hitting streak came to an end Friday night in Arizona, but Jake Cronenworth extended his hitting streak to seven straight games — going 3-for-5 with two doubles and a second homer in as many games.

Cronenworth is 10-for-26 during the streak with five doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs, two walks and six runs scored for a .385 batting average, a .429 on-base percentage and a .808 slugging percentage for a 1.237 OPS.

Cronenworth was involved in a pair of back-to-back home streaks. He personally homered in back-to-back games. And he went back-to-back following Fernando Tatis Jr.’s two-run homer in the fourth.

Profar did have a hand in the Padres’ third straight win. He opened the fourth with a walk and scored ahead of Tatis’ home run.

The hang time on Cronenworth’s homer was 6.41 seconds — the longest hang time on a Padres’ home run this season. Tatis’ homer had a 6.36-second hang time — the third-longest by a Padre in 2024.

An inning later, Manny Machado’s 17-degree line drive reached the left-field seats in 3.52 seconds — the shortest hang time on a Padres’ home run this season.

NOTES:

— RHP Dylan Cease improved to 4–2 Friday, allowing one run on three hits and no walks with eight strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. He lowered his earned run average to 2.55 and his WHIP to 0.803. Cease leads the Major Leagues by allowing only 4.252 hits per nine innings and ranks fifth with 48 strikeouts. He is holding hitters to a .140 batting average, a .213 on-base percentage and a .245 slugging percentage for a opponents’ OPS of .457. He also has four of the Padres’ five 100-pitch starts this season.

— Tatis had his fourth, three-hit game of the season Friday … and his first since April 16. Tatis was3-for-5 with a season-high three RBIs.

— Rookie CF Jackson Merrill’s first-pitch, RBI double in the fourth inning Friday snapped a 0-for-20 slump that dated back to April 24.

— RHP Jeremiah Estrada has worked 6 2/3 innings in four appearances since being promoted from Triple-A El Paso. He has given up two hits and three walks with six strikeouts without allowing a run for a 0.750 WHIP. He already has a 0.2 WAR.