SAN DIEGO (AP) - Padres rookie Jake Cronenworth hit a grand slam in a wild nine-run second inning Saturday night against Houston, making San Diego the first team in major league history to hit five in six games.
Earlier in the week, the Padres became the first club to hit a grand slam in four straight games.
Cronenworth drove a 3-1 pitch from Humberto Castellanos into the home run deck in right field - which now has a number of mannequins dressed in Padres gear - to give San Diego an 11-1 lead. It was San Diego’s third homer of the inning and fifth of the game.
Cronenworth, obtained along with outfielder Tommy Pham in an offseason trade with Tampa Bay, became the 20th Padres rookie to hit a grand slam. It was his third homer of the year.
Earlier in the week, the Padres hit grand slams in four consecutive games during a sweep of the Texas Rangers in a home-and-home series.
That onslaught started with Fernando Tatis Jr.’s controversial slam Monday night on a 3-0 count with a seven-run lead, reigniting a debate about etiquette and baseball’s so-called “unwritten rules.” Wil Myers hit a slam on Tuesday, Manny Machado had a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning Wednesday night and Eric Hosmer capped the run with a historic shot on Thursday night.
Hosmer batted with the bases loaded Friday night but grounded out.
Trent Grisham hit a three-run homer with Cronenworth aboard, and Myers launched a solo shot in the second inning. Tatis was hit by a pitch from rookie Brandon Bielak, who made way for Castellanos. Both teams were warned by the umpires, and Houston’s Martin Maldonado was ejected from the dugout.
Grisham also hit a leadoff shot and Machado had a solo shot with one out in the first.
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