DENVER — Padres manager Mike Shildt has made it clear that he’s not going to make a habit of sacrificing defense for offense.

But Coors Field is as good a place as any to chase runs from the start.

So Jake Cronenworth will start at shortstop for the first time since the 2022 regular season finale in Sunday’s 12:10 p.m. start (Padres.TV). That allows the Padres to start Luis Arraez, Ryan O’Hearn and Gavin Sheets as the Padres look to win their first series since taking two of three from the Dodgers at Petco Park in late August.

Arraez will play second base, O’Hearn will play first and Sheets will serve as the DH.

Cronenworth has appeared in two games this year at shortstop, both as defensive replacements in eighth and ninth innings of losses to the Orioles on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Between those two appearances, Shildt explained the reasoning like this:

“That’s when we’re down and we’re chasing it, you know?” he said. “I mean, the one thing that I can confidently say is defense is important and we don’t want to — I’ve done this long enough to see (what happens) when you’re chasing offense for the sacrifice of defense. And if you’re not on top of your game on the mound as much, you need your defense. So it’s an opportunity there to slide Croney over, get Luis to second, keep O’Hearn’s bat in the lineup, but it’s something more that we’ll see when we’re down, because we need to make sure we also field our best defense.

“Because, it’s not the sexiest thing that we talk about a lot, and we talk about the lineup construction and all the different things, but (defense) does show up. You know, there’s nine innings of defense — to catch the baseball and make outs. Outs are important. But good news is we do have some flexibility, and we’ll use it appropriately.”

Of course, the Padres aren’t down and Dylan Cease should give the Padres a leg up on Rockies right-hander Tanner Gordon (see pitching matchup below), but the Padres sprinted out to a 10-2 lead on Saturday only to sweat out the tying run on base in the eighth and ninth innings, all with Sheets on the bench.

On Friday, Arraez sat and O’Hearn had seen his share of bench duty too before Jackson Merrill’s injured list stint as the Padres are trying to figure out how to best deploy all the pieces acquired from the trade deadline.

There have been no complaints from inside the clubhouse.

“It’s gonna have to be workable,” O’Hearn said after reaching base five times Saturday. “We have really good players. That’s one of the downsides of it. Somebody’s going to have to be on the bench. I just kind of show up and do whatever I need to do if my name’s in the lineup and I get called. Just going to keep going, keep trying to win games and get after it.”

All three are in the lineup Sunday, along with Cronenworth, who has 10 homers and a .758 OPS that would be his highest since 2021 (.800) if the season ended today.

Conversely, his 10 errors are a career high and tied with the Orioles’ Jackson Holliday for the most among MLB second basemen. That said Mason McCoy, who is here for his defense, made one throwing error in his start on Saturday at shortstop and was saved from another by Arraez at first base.

Holding on for a win on Saturday finally allowed the Padres to gain a game in the NL West on the on Dodgers, who lost a fifth straight when the Orioles spoiled a no-hitter with two outs and ultimately walked off a win.

The same Orioles, O’Hearn’s old friends, had just swept the Padres to start the week.

“Yeah, what a finish, I just watched it,” O’Hearn said. “Insane. They are a good team. I’m not surprised.”

Here is how the Rockies, who will not have All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman — who has three homers in seven games this year against the Padres — will line up for the rubber match:

 

Sunday’s pitching matchup

Padres RHP Dylan Cease (6-11, 4.81 ERA)

He has a 5.96 ERA over his last five starts and has completed five innings just twice in that stretch. Cease has not faced the Rockies since going 2-1 in three starts last year (3.44 ERA). He has a 4.15 ERA in three career starts at Coors Field.

Here is how Cease has fared against current Rockies:

Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (5-5, 6.07 ERA)

The second-year starter has a 7.05 ERA in 90⅔ innings since last year’s debut and has allowed 17 home runs so far, including seven in 56⅓ innings this year. Gordon, however, has turned in three straight quality starts (2.00 ERA), including one at home, where he has a 4.50 ERA in seven starts this year. Gordon limited the Padres to one run in six innings in a no-decision at Petco Park.

Here is how Gordon has fared against current Padres: