Pack the bullpen and set an alarm.
That’s the reality staring down the Padres as they head to Milwaukee for the NLDS, where the calendar is almost as demanding as the Brewers. San Diego barely had time to clear the confetti out of Petco Park after sweeping the Cubs in two games before the postseason bracket sent it back on the road for a series built on speed, travel and very little recovery time.
Game 1 opens Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT in Milwaukee, and Game 2 follows on Sunday at 1 p.m.
PT. That leaves just 19 1/2 hours between first pitch and the next day’s start, a setup that puts a premium on every inning, every pitching change and every decision made in the late frames.
For Craig Stammen, that means Game 1 can’t be managed in a vacuum. The Padres’ bullpen is one of their biggest strengths, and it’s built to attack, but Mason Miller, Adrián Morejón and the rest of the late-inning group are not endless resources.
If Saturday night turns into a bullpen-heavy affair, the cost could show up almost immediately the next afternoon. San Diego will want its Game 1 starter to provide length against a Brewers rotation led by Jacob Misiorowski, who finished the regular season with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts.
Milwaukee enters the series in a very different place. The Brewers have been at home all week after earning a first-round bye, giving them time to line up pitching and avoid the grind of an elimination round.
The Padres, by contrast, arrive with the momentum of a sweep behind them. Their offense is already producing, and their bullpen has already been tested under playoff pressure.
That contrast matters, even if the Brewers have spent the week creating their own edge through workouts and simulated games. Rest has value. Rhythm does too.
The schedule eases only slightly after the first two games. Monday is the lone early breather before the series moves to Petco Park for Game 3 on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
PT. If needed, Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m.
PT. Then the teams would fly back to Milwaukee for a potential Game 5 on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
PT, though that time could change.
That’s why the opening stretch looms so large for San Diego. A split in Milwaukee would put the Padres in position at home. Falling behind 0-2 would make Tuesday night feel like a season-saving assignment.
There is at least some recent history to lean on. The Padres went 4-2 against Milwaukee during the regular season, including a three-game sweep at Petco Park in August. The Brewers won two of three when the clubs met in Milwaukee, a reminder that the venue has already shaped this matchup.
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 🡒]