San Diego Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth was activated from the concussion injured list on Monday after an eight-week absence.

The 32-year-old veteran started at second base Monday night against the host Chicago Cubs.

“It’s great to have Crony back,” San Diego manager Craig Stammen said. “We missed him, definitely. A guy that’s been a part of our team for a while, someone that’s just steady, professional at-bat all the time, and then a great second baseman. He’s just a value add when we get him back.”

Cronenworth got hurt when struck in the jaw by a fastball from the Los Angeles Angels’ Yusei Kikuchi on April 18. He struggled over the next two weeks before finally landing on the IL because of concussion-related vision problems.

The two-time All-Star was batting .144 with one homer and four RBIs in 32 games this season when he went on the IL.

Cronenworth began play Monday with a career .244 batting average, a .333 on-base percentage, a .399 slugging percentage, 81 home runs and 373 RBIs in 813 games over seven major league seasons, all with San Diego.

The Padres cleared a roster spot for Cronenworth by optioning infielder Will Wagner to Triple-A El Paso. Wagner, 27, had a .257/.422/.286 batting line with no homers and no RBIs in 16 games for San Diego this year.

San Diego also made a bullpen change, recalling right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez from Double-A San Antonio to replace right-hander David Morgan, who landed on the 15-day injured list because of left knee inflammation.

Morgan, 26, was 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 18 relief outings for the Padres this season.

Rodriguez, 22, gave up a hit but struck out two of the four batters he faced in a scoreless outing Monday against the Cubs. In 32 appearances (three starts) for the Padres this year, he is 1-2 with a 2.06 ERA.

–Field Level Media

Joey Ortiz hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied to beat the visiting Cincinnati Reds 5-3 in the opener of a four-game series on Monday.

Milwaukee trailed 3-0 after five innings before scoring two runs in the sixth and tying the game on Brice Turang’s home run in the seventh.

Sal Frelick delivered a one-out single in the eighth and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Tejay Antone replaced Sam Moll (1-6) and was greeted by Ortiz’s 412-foot homer over the center-field wall.

Aaron Ashby (11-1) pitched a scoreless eighth inning and leads the majors in wins. Trevor Megill retired the Reds in order in the ninth for his 11th save.

Frelick and Andrew Vaughn had two hits apiece for Milwaukee, which snapped a two-game losing skid. Ortiz’s homer was his second of the season.

Elly De La Cruz slugged a two-run homer for the Reds, who have lost five of their last seven games.

Cincinnati claimed a 1-0 lead with two outs in the first inning against Robert Gasser on Dane Myers’ RBI double.

Myers later exited the game in the fourth inning after making a running catch on Vaughn’s fly ball and crashing into the center-field wall.

The Reds added to their lead with two runs in the fifth inning. Edwin Arroyo hit a one-out single and De La Cruz followed by depositing Gasser’s first offering over the left-center field wall. The 412-foot blast was De La Cruz’s 13th homer of the season.

Reds starter Nick Lodolo limited the Brewers to one hit over five innings while throwing 96 pitches. He walked four and struck out four.

Chase Petty entered to start the sixth inning and gave up a one-out double to Vaughn before walking Christian Yelich. Milwaukee got on the board on Jake Bauers’ single and pulled within a run when Yelich scored on Petty’s wild pitch.

The Reds put two runners on with one out in the seventh inning before Chad Patrick escaped the jam when Sal Stewart flied out and Spencer Steer struck out.

Turang tied the game with a one-out homer in the bottom of the seventh against Petty. The 418-foot shot was Turang’s 12th homer this season.

–Field Level Media

Jordan Spieth was asked Tuesday about the apparent rise in heckling at PGA Tour events and the major championships. The reporter didn’t mention betting, but Spieth was quick to take it there.

The golf world, just like the sports world writ large, has grappled with the legalization and then the proliferation of sports betting in the United States. Spieth made the connection between sports betting and increasingly unruly galleries during his pre-tournament press conference at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill.

Specifically, Spieth discussed Wyndham Clark winning the U.S. Open on June 21 while most of the crowd seemed to be vocally against him throughout the weekend.

“I think you had some unique circumstances there,” Spieth said. “I don’t know. I mean, I think the one thing that I’ll point out is I do think that betting in golf is something that’s going to have to be tackled here soon, because I don’t know how much of, say, the Wyndham scenario was the fact that it was enticing to bet the field versus Wyndham on Sunday in a legalized betting state, and you could have had people out there that are essentially, you know, have $100 to $10,000, depending on who it is, on the field versus somebody else.”

Spieth pointed out the very nature of attending a golf tournament. Unlike in many sports, where spectators are far enough removed from the court or field of play, a heckler in golf is close enough to shout during a backswing and affect the outcome he is betting on in one direction or another.

“In golf it’s tricky because you could actually impact the outcome if you wanted to,” Spieth said. “It may not last very long, but you could impact a shot if you wanted to. I don’t know of another sport that you could impact as a fan like you can golf.”

The three-time major champion went on to add that unruly fans, while in the spotlight now, are not a new phenomenon altogether.

“I’ve also played rounds with guys who were not treated well 10, 15 years ago,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a crazy new thing. I do think the Bethpage (Black) Ryder Cup was, from what I understand, maybe a lingering effect from that with an American (versus) European (angle).

“You know, Cam Young (and Matt Fitzpatrick at) The Players,” Spieth added, citing fans at The Players Championship vocally rooting against Fitzpatrick in the final round. “I’m trying to single them out for you, but I wasn’t a part of either one of them, but I will say that from what I’ve seen, a lot of times it has to do with betting, and that is in the last five years.

“We’ll see what happens with that.”

Nobody, not even bettors, are likely to root against Spieth this weekend at TPC Deere Run. A longtime fan favorite on tour, Spieth is pursuing his first win since the 2022 RBC Heritage. He won the John Deere in 2013 — his first PGA Tour title — and 2015.

“There’s been a consistency level that was better than years past,” Spieth said. “The last month I felt like I played kind of the same level of golf and didn’t get a whole lot out of it. I had some opportunities in some big events to obviously maintain kind of the trajectory I was on.

“I’m not letting it get to me. I feel like my game is in a really good state. I’m more consistent and an all-around better player than I’ve been in a long time. If I stay the course, the results will come.”

–Field Level Media