The Padres’ season ended the way too many October stories do: one pitch, one swing, one missed chance too many.
San Diego fell to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, closing out a 2026 campaign that now ends with another empty offseason. The series was tight throughout, and Wednesday fit that script from the opening inning all the way to the final out. It was, in every sense, a game of inches.
Walker Buehler set the tone early by breezing through the top of the first on six pitches. The Padres then put themselves in prime position in the bottom half, loading the bases on two hits and a walk, including a bunt single from Manny Machado. They just couldn’t cash it in.
Milwaukee struck first in the third. Sal Frelick singled, stole second and scored when Garrett Mitchell delivered an RBI single. Petco Park went quiet for a moment, but Fernando Tatis Jr. brought it right back to life with a solo shot to center field leading off the bottom of the inning.
The Brewers kept pressing from there. Buehler returned for the fourth but allowed a leadoff single to William Contreras, which sent the game to left-hander Robbie Ray.
Ray escaped that inning, but the fifth turned into a bullpen shuffle. After Ray gave up a leadoff triple, Bradgley Rodriguez took over, and Jackson Chourio lined an RBI single to center to put Milwaukee back in front.
Another single and a fly out later, manager Craig Stammen turned to Yuki Matsui, who got the final out of the frame and kept it a one-run game.
San Diego’s offense never found much rhythm around that point, and the Brewers added another run in the sixth. Jason Adam entered and immediately allowed a leadoff single and a double. A sacrifice fly made it 3-1 before Adam settled down and got the next two outs.
Mason Miller, the newest father, took over in the seventh and recorded the Padres’ first pitching strikeout of the night. He also worked through a bases-loaded jam, but the Padres’ bats stayed quiet again in the bottom half.
Joe Musgrove handled the eighth without allowing a run, and San Diego nearly flipped the game in one swing. With one on and one out, Machado launched a drive to center that looked gone off the bat. Instead, Mitchell made the catch and preserved Milwaukee’s 3-1 lead.
Machado’s ball left the bat at 106.7 mph, traveled 406 feet and carried an expected batting average of .960. It would have left the yard in 19 stadiums.
Musgrove returned for the ninth and threw another scoreless inning, but the Padres went down 1-2-3 in the bottom half, and that was that.
This group has now gone without a World Series appearance despite featuring Machado, Tatis and Xander Bogaerts, among others. The window isn’t fully shut, especially after new owners Kwanza Jones and Jose E.
Feliciano spent $3.9 billion to buy the team this year, but the roster is aging in key spots. Machado posted the lowest OPS of his career in 2026 at .711 and will be 34 next season.
Bogaerts finished with a .676 OPS and will also be 34. Both are under contract through 2033, with Machado owed more than $39 million per year and Bogaerts more than $25 million annually.
Tatis is still 27. Jackson Merrill is 23. Ethan Salas made his MLB debut last month at 20.
There’s plenty of uncertainty beyond that. The Padres are set to lose most of their starting rotation to free agency, along with several relievers, including All-Star setup man Adrian Morejon. Their budget going forward is unclear, and an impending lockout could wipe out some or all of the 2027 season, which would only deepen the frustration.
Even so, this was still a strong regular season by San Diego’s standards. The club was at times staring at a finish under .500, but instead won 91 games and reached the playoffs for a third straight year for the first time in franchise history.
That doesn’t erase the ending. Another season without a World Series trip has to go down as a failure for this core, and the next chance, whenever it comes, remains unknown.
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