SAN DIEGO — The Padres found themselves on the brink of elimination, faced with the prospect of an early vacation in Cancun, particularly frustrating given their All-Star closer was sidelined. After securing leads but failing to hold them in Milwaukee, Tuesday night’s Game 3 presented a critical juncture.
However, they managed to hold their ground this time.
With Tom DeLonge of Blink 182 watching from behind home plate, the San Diego Padres narrowly defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 at Petco Park on Tuesday evening. This victory kept their hopes alive in the National League Division Series, reducing Milwaukee’s lead to 2-1.
The Padres’ next task? To gear up for another elimination match on Wednesday night.
At this stage, they’re ready for it.
San Diego struck first against former Dodgers pitcher Dustin May when Samad Taylor, who replaced Gavin Sheets due to a neck issue, got a single and promptly stole second base. Fernando Tatis Jr. capitalized on this by driving him home with a groundout, followed by Manny Machado delivering a two-out RBI single, putting San Diego ahead 2-0.
Nick Pivetta, the starting pitcher, delivered an essential performance for the Padres early on. But Milwaukee, as expected, started to rally in the fourth inning when William Contreras hit a solo homer to left, and rather cockily, he took his time around the bases while the crowd let him have it with boos.
In the following inning, Milwaukee snagged a run when Jackson Chourio hit a shallow fly ball, allowing Cooper Pratt to tag up and score, despite the risk of being thrown out by Dustin Harris. The crowd at Petco Park responded, no doubt reminded of how the previous two games had gone when Milwaukee stole wins at American Family Field.
With a sellout crowd of 47,708, watching people enjoying hot dogs and the action, it felt familiar—and somewhat ominous—for the Friars. Yet, reliever Yuki Matsui managed to escape a bases-loaded situation, and Jake Cronenworth quickly turned the tides back in San Diego’s favor. He launched a leadoff home run in the fifth inning off JoJo Romero’s first pitch, restoring the Padres’ lead to 3-2.
San Diego managed to add another run in an unconventional way when Miguel Andujar smashed his bat on a grounder to short. The broken bat nearly intercepted Xander Bogaerts, who sidestepped the splinter and scored an insurance run when Pratt’s grounder wasn’t handled cleanly by Brewers’ first baseman Jake Bauers.
Milwaukee narrowed the gap to 4-3 with Christian Yelich’s two-out single in the seventh inning. At this point, every pitch felt like it carried the weight of San Diego’s entire season.
With Mason Miller unavailable due to being placed on the Postseason Paternity List earlier that day, the Padres brought in Michael King to finish what Pivetta started. King was originally a starter but became an emergency option for the postseason, reflecting the stakes involved.
Desperate? Sure, but when it’s October, no one awards points for strategy; it’s all about whether you’re still in the game or not.
Now, the Padres are still in it.
What it means
San Diego has finally struck back.
Despite trailing 2-1 and having no room for mistakes, Milwaukee missed its chance to clinch the series. Now, another October night awaits at Petco Park on Wednesday, with San Diego potentially deciding between Robbie Ray and veteran Walker Buehler for Game 4.
Turning point
Milwaukee had just equalized the game by scoring from third on a shallow fly, seemingly taking momentum. But Cronenworth wasted no time in reclaiming it with a home run.
Did you see that?
Petco Park doesn’t have a roof, and one Padres fan made sure Milwaukee remembered it well. After a potential go-ahead homer for the Padres in Game 1 hit an obstruction, a clever fan showed up with a sign that said, “In San Diego there’s no roof to save you.”
Up next
On Wednesday night, the Padres face the Brewers once more at Petco Park for Game 4, giving Milwaukee a second chance to clinch the series.
Pitching plans remain as the biggest question mark, with Ray possibly returning, or Buehler being another favorable option, or even going with an opener.
No matter the route they choose, the game plan is now refreshingly straightforward: win on Wednesday and push this series back to Milwaukee.
Fail, and it’s packing time for Cancun.
