The Padres are back in must-win mode on Sunday, and this time Michael King is taking the ball.
After dropping the NLDS opener 3-2 to the Brewers, San Diego gets another shot to even things up at 1-1. Game 1 had no shortage of drama, including Ty France’s drive that looked like it might change everything before Jackson Chourio tracked it down in left field for the final out, with the ball hitting a wire on its way toward the roof at American Family Field.
San Diego had its own early answer in the series opener. The Padres jumped on Milwaukee starter Jacob Misiorowski and grabbed a lead, but they couldn’t make it hold. Robbie Ray battled control problems and didn’t get through the third inning, and the Brewers kept finding just enough offense to flip the game.
The big swing Sunday comes down to King, who has been the Padres’ ace and will be asked to carry them again. In the Wild Card round against the Cubs, he was dominant: seven shutout innings, only one hit allowed, three walks, and eight strikeouts. He’ll want to go deep again, but with this shaping up as another tight one, Craig Stammen’s timing with the bullpen could end up being just as important as King’s stuff.
San Diego also has to clean up the damage from Saturday’s long balls. Chourio tied the game after the Padres’ early lead with a two-run homer off Ray, and Adrian Morejon later gave up the solo shot to William Contreras in the seventh that stood up as the winner.
The Brewers will counter with Logan Henderson, who has been excellent even though this will be his first postseason start after Milwaukee’s first-round bye. He posted a 2.47 ERA with a WHIP of 0.87, and he brings another tough assignment for a Padres lineup that already had to scrap for every run in Game 1.
On paper, the edge again leans Milwaukee. But that was true in the opener too, and San Diego still put itself in position to steal it early.
A win Sunday would send the series back to Petco Park tied 1-1. A loss would leave the Padres with their backs against the wall.
Everything points to another tense, low-scoring duel, with this one likely decided late.
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 🡒]