The Milwaukee Brewers waited until Wednesday afternoon to settle on their Game 4 starter, and the choice pointed straight to the arm that gave them the best late-season stretch.
Robert Gasser will take the ball against the San Diego Padres, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. As McCalvy wrote, "LHP Robert Gasser will start NLDS Game 4 for the Brewers."
It was a decision shaped by the way Milwaukee’s rotation has already been used in the series. Jacob Misiorowski started Game 1, Logan Henderson handled Game 2 and Dustin May got the nod in Game 3, which left Gasser, Kyle Harrison or some kind of opener arrangement - possibly Aaron Ashby or Chad Patrick - as the remaining choices. In the end, the Brewers went with the left-hander who has been rolling.
Gasser was sharp all the way down the stretch. From Aug. 26 through the end of the regular season, he put together a 1.67 ERA with a 31-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 32 1/3 innings. Zoom out a little farther and the case gets even stronger: since July 19, he posted a 2.86 ERA with a 60-to-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 63 innings across 12 appearances, and Milwaukee won 10 of those 12 games.
Harrison, by contrast, had the kind of finish that made him a less obvious pick despite looking like a real possibility earlier in the year. He ended the season with a 4.20 ERA in 28 appearances, even though he carried a 2.79 ERA on Aug.
- From Aug. 31 through the end of the season, he struggled to a 16.05 ERA in 12 1/3 innings.
There was one encouraging note at the end: on Sept. 26 against the St. Louis Cardinals, he threw two scoreless innings, struck out four and allowed no hits or walks while hitting one batter.
Harrison has not yet pitched in the playoffs, and he could still be an option after Gasser. Milwaukee can clinch on Wednesday, but if it doesn’t, the series shifts to a winner-take-all Game 5 in Milwaukee on Friday.
In that scenario, Misiorowski would likely be back on the mound at home. For Game 4, though, the Brewers chose the cleaner answer.
Gasser has been hot, and a bullpen game would have been the more chaotic route. Now it comes down to execution.
In Other News...
Padres Playoff Crowd Drew Viral Attention For A Very Different Reason
Petco Park was packed for NLDS Game 3, and the Padres gave the home crowd plenty to celebrate with a 4-3 win over the Brewers. But one clip from the sellout crowd quickly took on a life of its own, turning a postseason night that should have been remembered for the baseball into a viral conversation about what fans see and do from the stands.
The video showed a female Padres fan using her smartphone's digital zoom to focus on the rear end of an unidentified player, and it spread fast online. The reaction went well beyond simple shock, with viewers debating public conduct and the double standards that can come with behavior at sporting events, adding an odd off-field subplot to an otherwise raucous playoff atmosphere. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Ended San Diegos Season With A Play Fans Will Relive
Fernando Tatis Jr. gave the Padres a jolt with a solo home run in Game 4 of the 2026 National League Division Series, and for a moment it felt like San Diego might be building toward one more October push. Instead, the Brewers answered with the kind of decisive defensive play that can define a series, as Garrett Mitchell went to the wall and took away what looked like a potential game-tying homer from Manny Machado.
It was a familiar kind of ending for a Padres team that has spent recent years trying to turn talent into a deeper postseason run. Now the focus shifts quickly to what comes next, and that is where the uncertainty begins to loom, with several key players getting older and multiple pitchers headed toward free agency. [Read more 🡒]
Padres End Another October With One Last Brutal What-If
The Padres season ended Tuesday night with the kind of October gut punch that lingers long after the final out. Milwaukees 3-1 win sent the Brewers on to the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers, and San Diego again found itself on the wrong side of a tight postseason game in which the margin for error vanished quickly.
Manny Machado gave the crowd its loudest moment when he drove a ball toward the wall that looked ready to change everything, only for it to be caught at the fence. Instead, the Padres were left with just three hits and another lingering reminder of how close a season can come to turning on one swing, one catch and one more chance that never quite arrived. [Read more 🡒]