NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: PHILLIES VS PADRES

October 19, 2022

Jake Cronenworth

Petco Park

San Diego Padres

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. Jake, you guys just got done in the previous series playing a team that you've faced a bunch, and I imagine it gets to a point where facing their pitchers, there's no secrets. They know what you've got; you know what they're going to do. It just comes down to execution. How much different is it in this series not having faced these guys as much, and how much more challenging is it for you?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: Yeah, I think it comes down to our preparation and all the different video we can watch on guys to somehow get an advantage one way or another.

Q. Maybe more challenging because you haven't seen them as much, but on the other hand, might there be more opportunities for you because they may not know you as well? Is there a window for more opportunity in that way?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: Yeah, I think the toughest thing when you're a hitter is you're reacting to the pitch, whereas a pitcher they can go up there and throw pitches and they can see where we swing and where we don't swing during the season, and then when it comes down for us, we have to be able to see the pitch, and if we're not facing those pitchers a lot -- and Zack has had really good success against our team the last couple years.

Q. Is it fun, though, because it's something new and different as opposed to a team that you've seen so much of? Is it as a player more stimulating?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: Yeah, I think the biggest difference is your adjustments need to come during your at-bats. From pitch to pitch we're at the point in the season where we can't wait to make the adjustment the next day or the next at-bat. We need to make those adjustments much quicker.

Q. Do you wish Austin's brother wasn't as good as he is?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: Yeah, his brother is really good. But we have Austin. He knows him better than anybody else.

Q. You know a lot of stuff, like how war is figured out. Do you know the odds of a team that falls to 0-2, how important it is to win this game?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: I don't know the odds, but I can guess it's pretty high. It's one of those things, we want to win at home, especially going on the road here for three more games. Come out and win this game today.

Q. You haven't had your hitters' meeting yet today, but when you've faced Aaron in the past the last couple times, does Austin pipe up maybe more than he normally would?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: Yeah, I've talked to Austin a lot about his brother, just in general, just because I'm super interested in the way he pitches and everything. But yeah, he'll definitely speak up and give us a little insight. I'm sure his brother keeps everything close to the chest now that we're playing them.

Q. The play you made yesterday in the shift, that's kind of been a new role for you this year. What have you learned about how to handle that spot and how to make plays like that?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: Yeah, I think I struggled with it a little bit early on, just trying to figure out when I need to attack certain balls and go back on certain ones, how much time I have with the specific runner.

I think when you get a ball like that yesterday, it's just completely reactionary, and just trying to cover as much ground as you can and then get a release off with Bryce running.

Q. Jake, Aaron has pitched pretty well against you guys. What does he do in particular that makes it tough to deal with him?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: I think his biggest thing is obviously I think you look at his numbers, he had over 230 strikeouts and only less than 30 walks or something like that. So he pounds the zone. I think another thing he does well is he mixes his pitches really well, and he does a good job of tunneling his pitches.

Q. The quick turnaround, night game to day game, kind of like a Saturday to a Sunday. Does any momentum carry over between those two, and looking back at the ALDS, the first two games with the Dodgers where the Dodgers scored early and then your bullpen shut them down and then the next day your offense was playing well from the get-go and you came back with a win, does any momentum carry over, especially since the two games are so close to each other?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: I think sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Last night's game wasn't incredibly exciting outside of their two homers and a couple base runners we had there in the ninth. It was just a great pitching matchup and performance by each guy.

So I think if anything today, I mean, they're up 1-0, so we've just got to come out and play our best game.

Q. On the topic of the two home runs and the one home run by Schwarber, have you ever seen anything like that as far and as hard as it was hit?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: No, but yeah, it was a homer. Yeah, put them up 2-0.

Q. Were you with Aaron during the offseason workouts, during the lockout?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: No, I was supposed to come out but I ended up not coming out when he was here.

Q. When you run into him does he trash talk you about the home run?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: No, I met him for the first time when they were here the last time. His dad always gives me crap, though.

Q. Jake, going back to the play you made yesterday and just kind of your defense as a whole, I know it's something you take pride in, what you do as a defender, at what point in your career did you realize that what you could do defensively could really be a meaningful part of your game and your importance to a team?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: Yeah, I think it all started in 2020, and it's a credit to one of the coaches on the Phillies' staff in Bobby Dickerson. I always enjoyed playing defense, but I never really like fell in love with it and really wanted to go out there and make an impact on the defensive side of the ball.

When he came in and preached about the importance of what we do on the field and how importance it is, I think I really started to buy into what he was preaching, and I think it's helped me tremendously.

Q. We often talk about early hitting, things like that, the work that players do on the offensive side. When you worked with Dickerson and different coaches, did you change anything about your routine during the season and the offseason about how you got ready for a game, for a season defensively?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: I think a lot of it was just being -- like paying incredible attention to detail because every little thing matters out there. He preaches -- the way he teaches the game on the defensive side of the ball is extremely simple, but very different at the same time, where it looks slow and boring, but since I've learned the way he teaches it, it's I think the best way to play defense.