The Padres left Milwaukee with a gut punch they can’t ignore. They carried a lead through nearly the entire game in Game 2 of the NLDS, only to watch Jackson Chourio end it with a walk-off two-run single in the final at-bat, sending San Diego into an 0-2 series hole.
The turning point wasn’t just the hit. It was how the game got there. Craig Stammen leaned on Mason Miller for six outs, and the decision backfired after Miller had been sharp through the eighth before losing the strike zone in the ninth.
Miller handled the eighth efficiently, retiring Brice Turang, Jake Bauers and William Contreras on 12 pitches. But the ninth unraveled fast.
He got the first hitter on a groundout in two pitches, then issued back-to-back walks to Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick. After Andrew Vaughn was retired, former Padre Gary Sanchez came off the bench and walked on six pitches to load the bases for Chourio.
From there, the Brewers’ star finished the job. Chourio swung through two of the first three pitches, then just missed a 103.5 mph fastball on the edge.
After taking a low slider, he drove a 101.3 mph fastball up the middle for the winner. The ball left the bat at 109.5 mph and gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Stammen said the plan was already pointing toward Miller for six outs.
“Top of the lineup in the eighth probably made that decision for Mason," Stammen said. "I think going into the game we were thinking of Mason for six outs anyway, especially with how quick the eighth inning went for him.”
"He was just battling the strike zone there at the end there," Stammen said.
For Miller, the postgame message was blunt.
“Terrible. I didn't do my job today," Miller said to reporters after the game.
"The cardinal rule is pretty much: You don't beat yourself. And I beat myself today.
I mean, a base hit with nobody on doesn't win them the game. A base hit after you walk the bases loaded does.”
The workload stood out, too. The final pitch to Chourio was Miller’s 40th of the day, far beyond his previous season high of 34, which came on May 15. During the regular season, he reached 30 pitches in only four of his 66 appearances.
Now the Padres get Monday off before the series shifts back to San Diego for Game 3 on Tuesday. They’ll need to win Games 3, 4 and 5 to keep their season alive and reach the NL Championship Series.
In Other News...
Padres Season Now Hinges On One Painful Game 2 Decision
The Padres had the kind of Game 2 that lingers, the sort that turns a single inning into the center of an entire postseason conversation. Mason Miller was asked to get the final six outs, but he could not finish the job, and Milwaukee walked it off on Jackson Chourios two-run single for a 4-3 Brewers win that pushed San Diego to the brink. Millers command wavered badly along the way, and by the end of the night the choice to keep him in drew plenty of scrutiny.
Now San Diego heads home down 2-0 in the NLDS and staring at a simple but punishing equation: win three straight or the season is over. The pressure is no longer just on the lineup to score or the bullpen to hold, but on the decisions that shape each high-leverage inning from here on out. One game changed the tone of the series, and it left the Padres with very little room to survive another misstep. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Just Got A New NLDS Concern As Series Shifts Home
As the National League Division Series shifts to San Diego for Game 3, the Padres added another experienced arm to the mix by reinstating right-hander Walker Buehler from the paternity list. To make room, Randy Vasquez was taken off the roster, a move that reflects how tightly San Diego is managing its pitching staff as the series changes venues and the leverage starts to climb.
Buehler is expected to matter if the matchup goes beyond Game 3, which gives the Padres a little more flexibility in how they piece together the back half of the series. For a club trying to control every pitching decision in October, getting him back into the active roster only adds to the questions Milwaukee now has to account for as the series moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Head Home With Their Season Suddenly On The Brink
The Padres head back to San Diego with the kind of urgency October tends to create and no room for another misstep. In Game 2 of the National League Division Series, their usual formula of Michael King working the opener and Mason Miller finishing the job did not hold up, and a 4-3 walkoff loss to the Brewers turned a manageable road split into a steep playoff climb.
Now down 2-0 in the best-of-five series, San Diego has to sweep three straight at home just to keep its season going. The bullpen plan that had become a defining piece of the Padres October identity is suddenly under the microscope, and the next few days at Petco Park will decide whether this team gets a chance to extend its run or watches the postseason slip away. [Read more 🡒]