Jake Cronenworth is mired in a 4-for-48 slump (.083/.170/.188), but the Padres remained committed to him and his on-base skills as a No. 2 hitter against right-handed starters.
In the wake of Luis Rengifo’s season-ending knee injury, the search for an option against left-handers is taking new turn on Saturday:
Newcomer Dustin Harris, a left-handed-hitter, will bat second against Giants left-hander Cesar Perdomo.
Saturday’s first pitch is at 1:05 p.m. on Padres.TV.
King on the mound. pic.twitter.com/6Ip4RvlWxi
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 12, 2026
Harris is hitting .355/.394/.452 in 13 games since his call-up on Aug. 24. That includes some success in limited exposure to left-handers (.300/.417/.300 across 13 plate appearances), but Harris more than held his own in the minors against southpaws this year, posting a .349/.438/.381 batting line across 74 plate appearances.
Harris was 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and a walk on Friday.
With Ty France on paternity leave, Cronenworth (.583 OPS) will again play first base, Fernando Tatis Jr. (.802 OPS) will play second base and Harris will get the start in right.
Austin Hays (.601 OPS) will serve as the DH and Samad Taylor (.775 OPS) will play left field and bat ninth.
Luis Campusano (.853 OPS) will catch and man the clean-up spot for a second straight day in place of France.
The Padres have three left-handed-hitters in Saturday’s lineup: Harris in the two-hole, center fielder Jackson Merrill (.732 OPS) in the five-hole and Cronenworth batting eight.
Friday’s win kept the Padres a half-game ahead of the Diamondbacks in the race for the NL’s third wild-card spot.
At 79-68, the Padres, winners of five in a row, are again a season-high 11 games over .500.
Here is how the Giants (62-86) will line up for Game 2:
Listos para una Fiesta Gigantes 🎉
⌚️: 1:05 p.m. PT
📍: @OracleParkSF
📺: @NBCSGiants
📻: @KNBR | KSFN#SFGiants | @CocaCola pic.twitter.com/tnH6gIQ4a2
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 12, 2026
Saturday’s pitching matchup
Padres RHP Michael King (10-9, 3.00 ERA)
He’s riding a 21⅔-inning scoreless streak and has spun six straight quality starts (1.43 ERA). King has a 2.22 ERA in 24⅓ career innings against the Giants, with the last appearance coming in a win in 2025 (5 ⅔ IP, 1 ER).
King only has history with four active Giants:
1B Rafael Devers (5-for-11, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs, 4 BBs, 3 Ks)
OF Jung Hoo Lee (1-for-6, RBI, 3 BBs)
C Andrew Knizner (0-for-2)
OF Grant McCray (0-for-2)
Giants LHP Cesar Perdomo (0-0, 0.90 ERA)
The 24-year-old has struck out eight against two walks over 10 innings of one-run ball across two appearances. He threw six shutout innings at Citi Field on Monday in a no-decision against the Mets. Perdomo averaged 9.0 per nine innings in 419⅓ innings (3.93 ERA) in the minors.
Perdomo does not have any history with current Padres.