The Brewers are leaning on the same two arms they expected to use all along in their NLDS matchup with the Padres, and that means Logan Henderson gets the ball for Game 2.
Jacob Misiorowski, the National League Cy Young favorite, is lined up for Game 1. Then comes Henderson, the breakout rookie who is set to make his postseason debut for Milwaukee in the second game of the series.
For Henderson, this isn’t a blind date with San Diego. He already faced the Padres once this season, and that outing came at Petco Park on August 10.
He turned in a quality start, working 6.1 innings and giving up three runs on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts. The Brewers didn’t get the win, though, as Casey Mize outpitched him in a 3-2 loss.
“Go back and look at the scouting reports going into that game,” Henderson told CBS 58's Cameron Ezeir regarding what he learned from the last matchup. “I don't know if we'll touch it over again, but come back and watch that outing a few times, there's a handful of guys who will be in the lineup who weren't that day. Kind of touching up and studying those guys as well, but definitely looking at it for sure.”
The group he’s talking about includes Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Harris, and Ethan Salas. Bogaerts was not in the lineup for that August 10 game, while Harris and Salas were in Triple-A El Paso. All three are in the Padres lineup for Game 1 and are expected to be there again for Game 2.
Henderson’s rookie season has been as steady as it gets. He closed the year tied with Zac Gallen’s 2019-2020 run for the MLB record for the most consecutive starts with three earned runs or fewer to open a career, reaching 23 straight. Over 98.1 innings, he posted a 2.47 ERA, and Milwaukee won 14 of his 18 starts.
That kind of year has put him in the mix for some downballot National League Rookie of the Year support. It’s a crowded field in 2026, especially in the National League Central, where JJ Wetherholt and Sal Stewart are among the leading names.
The Brewers’ choice for Game 2 comes down to Henderson’s performance and the late-season slide from left-hander Kyle Harrison. Harrison went through a brutal stretch between August 11 and September 17, allowing 33 runs, 25 earned, in 23.2 innings.
Milwaukee is clearly aiming at the bigger picture here. A win in Game 2 would send the Brewers to San Diego with a 2-0 series lead, and that would put them in prime position to finish off the Padres and reach the National League Championship Series for the second straight postseason.
In Other News...
Padres Have Every Right To Be Furious About This Game 1 Twist
A strange break in Game 1 of the NLDS put the Padres in an early hole before the baseball really had a chance to breathe. Ty France sent a ball skyward at American Family Field, it struck a cable supporting the roof, and Jackson Chourio came down with it for an out. It was the kind of play that makes everyone in the ballpark stop and check the rule book, even if the answer winds up being more mundane than the reaction.
Under the parks ground rules, the ball stays live if it hits the cable above fair territory, so the ruling was correct. Still, the setting only added to the frustration for San Diego, with MLB controlling whether the roof is opened or closed in the postseason and the roof closed for this game. For a team trying to seize an early edge in October, it was the sort of twist that leaves plenty of room for argument, even if not much room for protest. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Open NLDS With Brutal Ending Fans Wont Stop Debating
The Padres NLDS opener in Milwaukee came down to one of those October moments that can linger long after the final pitch. San Diego dropped Game 1, 3-2, but the conversation afterward centered on Ty Frances drive in the top of the ninth, a ball that looked for a moment like it might flip the game and the series with one swing.
Instead, it hit the closed roof at American Family Field and was caught by Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio for an out, a ruling the Padres challenged before it was upheld under the stadiums ground rules. Milwaukee then finished off the final out, leaving San Diego to regroup and leaving fans to keep arguing about a play that felt one step away from changing everything. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Got A Massive Playoff Break Thanks To One Bizarre Bounce
A strange break in Milwaukee helped turn one of Game 1s biggest swings into a routine out, and the Padres were left to shake their heads. Ty France sent a deep fly toward the roof at American Family Field, where the ball took an odd bounce and was ultimately caught by Jackson Chourio, erasing what looked like a possible go-ahead homer for San Diego.
Craig Stammen challenged the call, but the umpires let it stand under the parks ground rule, which treated the ball as fair after it hit the roof. It was the kind of play that can feel unique to one stadium, one postseason game, and one unlucky sequence, especially since the balls path probably would have played differently in most major league parks. [Read more 🡒]