MILWAUKEE - Game 2 of the National League Division Series arrives with the kind of pressure that can tilt a whole October. The Padres are staring at a near must-win spot after dropping Game 1, while the Brewers know another victory would put them in full control before the series shifts to Petco Park.
San Diego has its ace lined up in Michael King, and that alone raises the stakes. Milwaukee, meanwhile, will turn to Logan Henderson, who said, "To be able to pitch for the best team in baseball and get an opportunity to help the team win, and for the city, it's incredible.
It's hard to put into words," said Brewers starting pitcher Logan Henderson, who will oppose King. "Not trying to make it too much bigger than it is, and preparing for it like another start.
And I think we understand the stakes, but you've got to treat it the same. So, yeah, I feel prepared."
The numbers underline the challenge facing the Padres. Teams that grab a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five series have gone on to win 89% of the time, going 83-10. And under the current Division Series setup, clubs that lose the first two games on the road have come back only three times in 36 tries.
King enters this start with the kind of October profile that can change a series in a hurry. In the Wild Card Series against the best offense in baseball, he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
He has also delivered multiple playoff starts with seven scoreless innings, and after a 2025 season mostly wiped out by injury, he has reestablished himself as a front-line starter. "It always feels good when Michael's on the mound," Stammen said.
Henderson, 24, brings a very different look. His four-seam fastball is about 10 mph slower than Jacob Misiorowski’s was in Game 1, but the pitch still plays because of its unusual traits, and he has been remarkably steady in his career. What he does not bring is October experience; last year, a forearm injury cost him time, and he was only getting healthy when roster decisions were made for the NLDS and NLCS.
The Padres’ lineup should again feature Luis Campusano behind the plate, since he has become King’s personal catcher. The bigger question is designated hitter, where Gavin Sheets looks like a natural fit after not starting yet this postseason. Austin Hays, Samad Taylor, Miguel Andujar and rookie catcher Ethan Salas are also in the mix.
A projected Padres order against Henderson: Fernando Tatis Jr. in right field, Dustin Harris in left, Manny Machado at third, Ty France at first, Jackson Merrill in center, Xander Bogaerts at short, Gavin Sheets at DH, Luis Campusano at catcher and Jake Cronenworth at second.
Milwaukee’s offense found enough power to win Game 1 despite finishing the regular season with the fewest homers in the National League. Jackson Chourio opened the scoring with a two-run shot, and William Contreras later delivered the go-ahead solo homer in the seventh. Against a right-hander, the Brewers could line up with Garrett Mitchell, Chourio, Brice Turang, Contreras, Jake Bauers, Christian Yelich, Joey Ortiz, Sal Frelick and Cooper Pratt.
The bullpens are built to matter just as much as the starters, and maybe more. For the Padres, Mason Miller sits at the back end with Adrian Morejon as the primary setup arm, and those two would be the likeliest candidates to cover the final three innings if San Diego leads.
Morejon threw two innings Saturday night, though. Bradgley Rodriguez, Jason Adam and Yuki Matsui are available for key early spots, but all three pitched Saturday and likely won’t be asked for more than an inning.
If King doesn’t go deep, Randy Vásquez is available for length and likely without restrictions, since he presumably will be removed from the roster before Game 3 when Walker Buehler comes off the paternity list.
Milwaukee can match up with that bullpen group. Trevor Megill, after back-to-back seasons with 30 saves and a career-best 0.89 WHIP, worked a multi-inning save in Game 1 and got help from a roof truss above left field.
Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and DL Hall all pitched, with Ashby and Hall covering multiple innings, which could make left-hander JoJo Romero especially important in Game 2. The Brewers also have several fresh starters who can work in relief or open games: Robert Gasser, Shane Drohan and Kyle Harrison.
It’s a left-handed-heavy mix.
There are also a few injury notes worth watching. The Padres are still dealing with Jeremiah Estrada’s right shoulder impingement in the bullpen, though Joe Musgrove’s return after nearly two years away because of Tommy John surgery could help offset that loss. On offense, Sheets and Miguel Andujar have both returned from injuries, though Sheets is limited to DH and pinch-hitting because of a foot issue that has bothered him most of the second half.
For Milwaukee, Ortiz entered the series with concerns around his abdomen, groin and right knee, but he ran well in Game 1.
At the plate, a few Padres have come out hot. Machado and Bogaerts are both 5-for-11 to open the postseason, and France is 5-for-12. Merrill went 0-for-5 in Game 1, and Hays is 0-for-6 so far.
The Brewers have their own October surge working. Chourio has homered in every postseason series he has played in during his career, and his Game 1 blast made him the Brewers’ all-time leader in postseason homers.
All three of Contreras’ postseason home runs have been go-ahead shots with two outs. Ortiz hit .341 with an .884 OPS from Aug. 2 through the end of the season, and Turang’s September was one of the best in the majors, with a .361 average, a .475 on-base percentage and a 1.077 OPS that ranked in the top 10.
In Other News...
Brewers Hold On After Wild Ninth Inning Call Sparks Padres Fury
A bizarre ninth-inning moment at American Family Field became the defining flashpoint of Game 1 of the National League Division Series, when Ty France sent a fly ball high enough to strike a cable on the roof before Jackson Chourio made the catch for the Brewers. The umpires ruled it an out under the ballparks ground rules, deciding the ball had hit over fair territory, and the call immediately turned a tense postseason game into the kind of replay-worthy controversy that tends to linger long after the final pitch.
For Milwaukee, the ruling helped preserve a hard-fought win, but it also left the Padres simmering over how the final inning unfolded. Craig Stammen and Pat Murphy both addressed the play afterward, along with players involved, as the odd sequence became less about the mechanics of a ruling and more about the pressure-cooker reality of October baseball, where a single strange bounce can reshape a whole series opener. [Read more 🡒]
Jacob Misiorowski's Wild NLDS Start Left Brewers Fans With One Concern
Jacob Misiorowskis NLDS debut gave Brewers fans exactly the kind of electricity they have come to expect from the rookie right-hander, and then some. In Game 1 against the Padres, he reached a new velocity peak with a 104.8 mph pitch and kept the fastball coming, piling up 52 pitches at 100 mph or harder while working four innings and striking out six.
For Milwaukee, the appeal is obvious. Misiorowskis stuff can change a series in a hurry, and he left the opener having allowed two runs on four hits and a walk before the Brewers turned to the bullpen with the game still hanging in the balance. The only real question now is how that kind of effort shapes what comes next, because outings like that can be a weapon and a warning at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
Willson Contreras Just Changed An Early Brewers Playoff Storyline
The Brewers opened their NL Division Series with a tight 3-2 win over the Padres, and the biggest swing came from a familiar face who had been at the center of a late-season flashpoint. Willson Contreras delivered the go-ahead solo homer in the seventh inning after Jackson Chourio had already dragged Milwaukee back into the game with a tying two-run shot earlier, giving the Brewers the kind of timely power they have been chasing as October pressure ramps up.
Contreras performance carries extra weight because manager Pat Murphy benched him late in the regular season over a lack of hustle, a decision that had left his role under the microscope going into the postseason. Instead of letting that become the headline, Contreras answered in the first game that mattered most, giving Milwaukee an early playoff storyline built around response, not resentment, even if the full impact of that turnaround is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]