Brewers fans got exactly the kind of Wild Card opener they could enjoy without fully loving it.
The Chicago Cubs took a hammering from the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, falling 8-0 in Game 1 and giving Milwaukee observers a very familiar feeling: relief, plus a little bit of discomfort. The Cubs were the Brewers’ biggest rival in last year’s five-game NLDS, and another October showdown would have been the last thing Milwaukee needed to see after its historic season.
San Diego wasted no time turning the game into a rout. Michael King shut down Chicago’s league-best offense, and the Padres greeted Matthew Boyd with immediate trouble, as Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado hit first-inning homers.
That result matters for Milwaukee because the Padres are the more dangerous opponent. The Brewers went 2-4 against San Diego in the regular season, including a three-game sweep in San Diego in August. Against Chicago, Milwaukee was 9-4 overall and went 5-2 in a dominant stretch at the start of September.
The Cubs also arrived in October on shaky footing. They finished September 11-13 and ranked 15th in scoring for the month. The Padres, by contrast, tied the Brewers for the best record in baseball at 18-6 and scored the second-most runs, trailing only Milwaukee.
There was another wrinkle in how Game 1 played out: it barely touched San Diego’s biggest weapon. The Padres’ bullpen, built around Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon, didn’t need any of its high-leverage relievers. Yuki Matsui and Joe Musgrove, back from injury, handled the cleanup behind King.
That kind of stress-free win is exactly what a team like San Diego wants in October. For Brewers fans, the ideal outcome still starts with the Cubs losing. But if Chicago is going down anyway, Milwaukee would probably prefer it to make San Diego sweat a little more while doing it.
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For Milwaukee, the timing is uncomfortable because the matchup lands right as the Padres are playing their best baseball. San Diego is expected to lean heavily on its bullpen while also lining up Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson and Robbie Ray for the series, giving the Brewers a difficult blend of power arms and recent results to sort through. The top seed still has home-field advantage, but the path to the next round suddenly looks a lot less predictable than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
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There was one obvious omission in the mix, though, and it came from the left-handers first stop in pro ball. Sabathia left out the Cleveland Guardians, the franchise where he began his career and has often spoken fondly of his formative years, even though they remain in the postseason picture and are still very much part of the conversation he was trying to start. [Read more 🡒]