The Padres are heading into the NL Division Series with a curveball of their own.
After sweeping the Cubs in the wild-card round, San Diego will open its best-of-five matchup against the top-seeded Brewers with left-hander Robbie Ray on the mound, not Walker Buehler. That decision adds an extra layer to a series that already looks loaded with tension, especially with Milwaukee coming in as the No. 1 seed after a 103-59 season.
The Brewers weren’t just good. They ran away with the NL Central, finishing 14 games ahead of the Cubs. Still, the Padres had some success against them in the regular season, taking four of six and even sweeping a three-game set at Petco Park in August.
Manager Craig Stammen made clear after the wild-card sweep that none of that regular-season work will matter much now.
"It's going to be a tough series," manager Craig Stammen said after sweeping the wild-card on Wednesday. "The regular season is out the window.
As we saw, the Cubs kicked our butt in the regular season, and we were able to handle them for two games. Anything can happen in a short series.
"They're going to be a tough opponent. Every game that we played with them was really close in the regular season. I anticipate something similar to that in this coming week."
Ray, 35, arrived with the Padres before the trade deadline and made nine starts for the club. He posted a 5.02 ERA, with 33 strikeouts and 27 walks across 43 innings. His postseason résumé is short, too: six appearances, including two starts, and a 7.43 ERA over 13.1 innings.
He did see Milwaukee once during the regular season. On Aug. 12, Ray gave up two runs in four innings while striking out four and walking three.
On the other side, Milwaukee is expected to counter with a pitcher who has been overpowering all year. Right-hander Jacob Misiorowski enters Game 1 as the heavy favorite for the NL Cy Young award after going 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 174.2 innings.
His fastball has been nearly untouchable, averaging 100.6 mph, and his 37.6% strikeout rate sits in the 100th percentile in MLB. He also works in a cutter, slider and curveball that only deepen the challenge.
"Obviously, you've got Misiorowski Game 1, who's a great pitcher. Top to bottom, they're a solid, solid team," said Gavin Sheets, who hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run on Wednesday.
"We're going to start in Milwaukee, it's going to be just like here, it's going to be rocking. But I think there's some momentum that gets built when you play these two games."
Misiorowski already has one dominant showing against San Diego on his ledger. On May 13, he threw seven shutout innings, struck out 10 and allowed just four hits, though the Padres still managed to win that game 3-1.
Game 1 is set for Saturday, Oct. 3, with first pitch at 5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m.
ET. FOX Sports 1 will carry the broadcast.
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