The San Diego Padres starting pitcher couldn’t make it past the fifth inning. They had a usually vaunted bullpen without both of its top arms. They were 6-for-29 overall and 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position.
They are still alive.
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Facing a sweep by the Milwaukee Brewers after two deeply frustrating games in Wisconsin, the Padres pulled out all the stops to continue their season with a 4-3 victory Tuesday in Game 3. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET in San Diego, with both starting pitchers to be determined.
Michael King, San Diego’s starting pitcher in Game 2, closed the game with a six-out save on two days’ rest. Even that wasn’t a smooth road, as Brice Turang and William Contreras both drew walks to put the go-ahead run with one out.
San Diego had Game 1 starter Robbie Ray warming up alongside Joe Musgrove, setting himself up for disaster, but Brewers captain Christian Yelich then smoked a 107.1 mph grounder to shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who recovered the ball for a game-ending double play.
The Brewers were fortunate to sweep Tuesday. Instead, it was their 12th straight road loss in the postseason, extending an MLB record. They are now 6-24 in these games in their entire history, the worst mark in the league.
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Despite this record, the pressure was obviously on San Diego entering Tuesday. The club dealt its first blow – at least at the baseball level – before the game even started, when All-Star closer Mason Miller was added to the paternity list, removing him from the roster for a must-win game and possibly more.
It wasn’t known at the time, but All-Star left-hander Adrian Morejon was also apparently unavailable after throwing 31 pitches in Game 1. It’s unclear what the problem was, but there were plenty of places he could have gotten in on Tuesday, and he didn’t. A nearly untouchable bullpen has been part of the Padres’ identity all season, but on Tuesday its best weapons were suddenly no longer there.
A long start from Nick Pivetta might have alleviated the problem, but he left after 4 1/3 innings with five hits and two runs allowed.
So how did the Padres win? Big hits, weird hits and an enclosure held together with duct tape. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado scored runs in the third inning, only for the Brewers to tie it in the fifth against Pivetta.
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Jake Cronenworth broke the tie one pitch late in the game with a solo home run, his first long ball in 22 playoff games.
An insurance run that proved necessary came an inning later, when pinch hitter Miguel Andujar saw his bat broken with Bogaerts on second. Bogaerts avoided both the broken bat and the ball as he headed toward third base, then broke for home when Brewers rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt bounced the throw to first base.
Meanwhile, the bullpen of Jason Adam, Yuki Matsui and Bradgley Rodriguez held things together well enough that King was able to come into the leadoff in the eighth and cement his place in Padres history.
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It’s unclear how the next few days will play out, but the Padres may have already won the toughest game.
Follow Yahoo Sports for updates, highlights and more as the San Diego Padres take on the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the NLDS.
Jack Baer
The Padres and Brewers will resume play on Wednesday. Remarkably, the Brewers have now lost 12 straight playoff games on the road dating back to last season. This matches the longest streak in MLB history.
Ryan Young
What an ending for San Diego. Christian Yelich grounded into a double play, thanks to a huge defensive move by Xander Bogaerts.
We have Game 4 Wednesday night.
Ryan Young
Easy work for the Brewers there after handling three quick grounders to end the eighth.
The Padres are now three outs away from winning Game 3 and extending this series.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
A David Hamilton single put a runner on board with two outs for Jackson Chourio, but Michael King gets a groundout to end the bottom of the eighth. He threw 19 pitches in that inning, so we’ll see how much of the ninth he gets.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
DL Hall moves to the top of the Padres order unscathed.
Here’s Michael King, who pitched five innings two days ago in Game 2, for the eighth inning of a classic relief appearance for a starting pitcher.
Jack Baer
Jake Cronenworth stays hot with an opposite-field single against DL Hall. He’s 2-for-2 with a homer and a sacrifice tonight.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Bradgley Rodriguez punches Garrett Mitchell and screams. Six outs left for the Padres, how they get them is TBD.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Yelich lines a single to center and cuts the deficit to one. And now Michael King is heating up. Notably, no Adrian Morejon yet, in a game where the Padres are already missing a super reliever.
It was Christian Yelich’s first postseason RBI since 2018.
Jack Baer
Phew, Brice Turang hits a ball that barely manages to pass the glove of left fielder Jase Bowen and it’s his first hit of the series. It’s now runners on the corners with two outs, as Christian Yelich faces Bradgley Rodriguez.
Jack Baer
The Padres are pinching Jase Bowen for Andujar, and it’s not going well. Bowen was thrown out while attempting to steal second, ending the sixth inning.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Wow, Andujar hits a broken grounder to shortstop, the bat almost hitting Xander Bogaerts on the basepath, then Cooper Pratt bounces the ball to first. Jake Bauers can’t get the scoop, nor can he bring the ball home in time to pick up Bogaerts.
A chaotic play goes entirely the Padres’ way.
Jack Baer
Antonio Senzatela gets the first two batters in the bottom of the sixth, but a two-out single from Xander Bogaerts ends his night. Southpaw DL Hall comes in to face Miguel Andujar, hitting Dustin Harris.
Jack Baer
We’re looking very far ahead here, but consider that the Brewers only need one baserunner in the next three innings to guarantee another Jackson Chourio at-bat after leading off the seventh. Which, once again, is not trivial when Mason Miller is absent from the list.
Jack Baer
Joey Ortiz makes the full count, then flies out to deep left field. The Padres still lead, but this Milwaukee lineup makes them work.
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