The Brewers spent most of Game 3 trading punches in another tight NLDS fight, but this time the last swing belonged to San Diego. Milwaukee fell 4-3, trimming its series lead to 2-1 after a night that featured big defensive plays, a few blown chances, and one final double play that shut the door just after midnight in Milwaukee.
The tone was set early. Jackson Chourio opened the game by ripping a ball into the left-center gap, only for Jackson Merrill to cover ground and make a sliding catch on the warning track to steal extra bases. Jake Bauers struck out, William Contreras flew out, and Nick Pivetta still had to labor through the inning, throwing 17 pitches.
Milwaukee’s first challenge of the night went sideways almost immediately in the bottom half. Contreras went after the first pitch from Dustin May, and the call was upheld on review, cutting the Brewers’ ABS challenges in half. May settled in from there, giving up only a two-out walk to Manny Machado.
Christian Yelich gave Milwaukee its first hit with a one-out single in the second, but May erased the inning with a pair of strikeouts. In the third, Merrill made another slick grab, this time denying Sal Frelick, before Joey Ortiz added a one-out single that also went nowhere.
San Diego finally broke through in the bottom of the third. Samad Taylor lined the Padres’ first hit into center, stole second, moved up on a Jake Cronenworth bunt, and scored on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s groundout for a 1-0 lead. Merrill followed with a single, stole second, and came around on Machado’s single to make it 2-0.
Contreras answered right away in the fourth, crushing a leadoff homer to left to pull Milwaukee within 2-1. Pivetta then retired the next three hitters in order.
The Brewers had a chance to flip things later in the fourth when May walked Ethan Salas on four pitches and then fell behind Xander Bogaerts before Pat Murphy made the move. JoJo Romero came in, worked back from a 3-0 count, and got a forceout at second before striking out Dustin Harris and getting Taylor to pop out.
Milwaukee tied it in the fifth. Cooper Pratt and Frelick opened with back-to-back singles, Ortiz bunted both runners up, and Jason Adam entered for Pivetta. Chourio lifted a shallow fly to left-center, and with Harris making the catch instead of Merrill, Pratt tagged from third and beat the throw home to make it 2-2.
The tie lasted one pitch into the bottom of the fifth. Romero hung a sweeper, and Cronenworth sent it over the wall in right for a 3-2 San Diego lead.
The Brewers kept pressing, though not without frustration. In the sixth, Yelich drew a four-pitch walk, Pratt singled, and Frelick moved both runners up with a groundout. Bradgley Rodriguez then got Ortiz to fly out and end the inning.
San Diego added a key insurance run in the bottom half. Xander Bogaerts singled off Antonio Senzatela, forcing Murphy to turn to lefty DL Hall.
Miguel Andujar, batting for Harris, worked a full count, and Hall’s wild pitch moved Bogaerts to second. Andujar then chopped a broken-bat grounder to short, where Pratt’s throw ended up low after the bat flew and Bogaerts’ move to avoid the ball came into play.
The run scored, and the Padres were up 4-2. Jase Bowen replaced Andujar at first and was later caught stealing, but the damage was done.
Milwaukee kept hanging around. After Rodriguez struck out Chourio and Bauers, Contreras, Turang, and Yelich strung together three straight singles to get a run back. With the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first, Mitchell struck out to end that threat.
Hall worked around a Cronenworth single in the seventh, and the Brewers got another look in the eighth against Michael King, who was working on one day of rest. King allowed only a two-out single to pinch-hitter David Hamilton before Chourio grounded out.
Abner Uribe then handled the middle of San Diego’s order on seven pitches, getting three groundouts to push the game to the ninth.
Milwaukee made one last push. Bauers struck out, but Contreras and Turang drew walks to put the go-ahead run on base. Yelich then grounded into a game-ending 6-3 double play.
The Brewers finished with 11 hits to San Diego’s six and drew four walks to the Padres’ two, but they left 11 runners on base. Contreras powered the offense with a homer, two singles, and a walk, while Pratt added two singles of his own.
The series continues with Game 4 on Wednesday night. Neither team has announced a starter yet, though Robert Gasser appears likely for Milwaukee and Walker Buehler for San Diego.
First pitch is set for 9:08 p.m. CT.
In Other News...
Brewers Padres Series Just Got A Petty New Edge
The Brewers have found a little October edge of their own at home, turning to elevator music during opponents batting practice as part of the postseason chess match that tends to show up once the calendar flips. It is the kind of harmless but pointed gamesmanship that feels right for this time of year, when every club is looking for some small way to unsettle the other side before the games start counting in earnest.
San Diego answered in kind at Petco Park, piping elevator music over the speakers while Milwaukee was on the field for an off-day workout. It was a playful jab rather than anything heavy-handed, but it adds a petty little wrinkle to the series and underscores how thin the margins can get when two teams are looking for any edge, even one that sounds more like a department store than a ballpark. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Just Got A Game 3 Opening Padres Fans Hate
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Nick Pivetta is set to start on the mound for the Padres, giving San Diego a familiar arm as it tries to extend its season. It will be his second postseason start since returning from injury, and the Padres are banking on him to help steady a lineup that has already lost one key bat before the first pitch. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Had A Strange Game 1 Warning That Suddenly Looks Huge
Rainy conditions forced the Brewers to close the roof at American Family Field for Game 1 against the Padres, and what looked like a routine weather decision turned into one of the defining moments of the night. A ball hit the roof and stayed in play long enough for Jackson Chourio to make the catch, turning the strange carom into an out that helped Milwaukee hang on for a 3-2 win.
Chourio then showed up again in Game 2, this time delivering the walk-off single that sent the Brewers home with another victory and a 2-0 lead in the NLDS. In a series where the smallest details have already mattered, the roof call from the opener suddenly looks like more than a footnote for Milwaukee. [Read more 🡒]