The Padres didn’t just beat the Brewers on Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park. They finished off a three-game sweep, walked off 4-3 in 11 innings, and moved into sole possession of the No. 5 seed in the National League.
With losses by the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego climbed into the second wild-card spot. Philadelphia slipped out of playoff position, while Arizona now sits in the No. 6 seed.
What started as a tight pitching matchup between two trade deadline additions turned into a grind, then a comeback, then a finish that needed extra innings and a little bit of everything.
Left-hander Robbie Ray made his second start for the Padres, while right-hander Dustin May was making his second appearance for Milwaukee. The Brewers struck first in the second inning when former Padre Gary Sanchez homered. They added another run in the third on an RBI single from Brice Turang.
San Diego answered in the bottom of the third. Xander Bogaerts launched a 415-foot homer at 105.1 mph off the bat for his 500th hit as a Padre, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
May had the better of the duel from there, finishing after seven-plus innings with four hits allowed and six strikeouts. Ray wasn’t as sharp, but he kept the Padres close. He worked four innings, gave up two runs, struck out four and walked three while constantly navigating traffic.
After that, San Diego leaned on the bullpen and got exactly what it needed. Bradgley Rodriguez handled six important outs, Jeremiah Estrada threw a perfect seventh, and Kyle Hart worked around two walks to get through the eighth without allowing a run.
The Padres finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth with two outs. Fernando Tatis Jr. came off the bench to pinch-hit for Freddy Fermin and drew a walk. Luis Rengifo followed with another walk, and Jake Cronenworth tied it with an infield single that brought Tatis home.
Mason Miller took over in the ninth and had to fight his command, issuing two walks. Even so, he escaped the jam with Jackson Chourio flying out and Turang striking out, sending the game to the bottom of the inning tied 2-2.
San Diego had a chance to end it then. Jackson Merrill ripped a one-out double, and Jase Bowen nearly won it with two outs, only for Garrett Mitchell to make a diving catch and force extras.
Adrian Morejon kept Milwaukee off the board in the 10th, with Luis Campusano throwing out a would-be base stealer at third base to help him out. The Padres couldn’t score in the bottom half, pushing things to the 11th.
Milwaukee finally pushed across a run in the top of the 11th, but Morejon limited the damage to one. Merrill answered in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly to tie it again, and then Luis Lara made another big catch in right field to rob the Padres of yet another walk-off chance.
That still left San Diego with one more opening. Sung-Mun Song stole second, and Campusano ended it with a walk-off RBI single.
In Other News...
Padres Send Another Veteran Pitcher Out As Staff Shakeup Continues
The Padres post-deadline pitching cleanup kept moving with another familiar veteran leaving the picture, a sign that the club is still sorting through the back end of its staff as August gets going. Around the league, a few recognizable names have already come off the roster board, with Ben Bowden accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas after being designated by the Athletics, while other clubs have moved on from experienced arms in similar fashion.
For San Diego, the latest departure fits a broader pattern of churn that often follows the trade deadline, when teams start making hard calls on depth pieces and veteran relievers. Germn Mrquez, Chris Martin and Matt Strahm were among the pitchers released by their respective clubs, each with the option to refuse an outright assignment but instead heading straight to free agency, another reminder that this part of the calendar can change a bullpen almost as much as a deadline deal. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Are Turning The NL Wild Card Race Into A Fight
The Padres have turned a middling summer into a real push, climbing from 50-53 on July 23 to 64-57 by Aug. 12 and landing in a three-way tie for the second National League wild card spot. A team that looked stuck in the middle a few weeks ago has suddenly found itself in the thick of the race, and the change has been fueled by a deeper rotation after trades for Robbie Ray and Casey Mize.
Just as important, the offense has started to carry its weight, with Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Ty France all giving the lineup a much-needed lift. San Diego is putting real pressure on the clubs around it now, even if the Cubs still sit well ahead for the top wild card berth, and the rest of the race is starting to look less like a cushion and more like a fight. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Move On From Another Pitching Depth Option
The Padres have trimmed another arm from their Triple-A pitching mix, releasing right-hander Misael Tamarez from El Paso after a difficult season in the Pacific Coast League. Tamarez, who joined San Diegos organization in 2025 after previously pitching in the Astros system, spent the year working in relief but never found much traction, finishing with a 6.14 ERA across 31 appearances.
For a club that is always trying to keep enough depth on hand for the long grind of a season, the move is another sign of how fluid the back end of the pitching staff can be. Tamarez is now a free agent, and while the Padres continue to shuffle arms through the upper levels, this one leaves them looking for a more reliable option to fill those innings in El Paso. [Read more 🡒]