The San Diego Padres refused to die. Facing elimination and without their two best high-leverage relievers, the Padres beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Tuesday night at Petco Park in Game 3 of the National League Division Series, cutting Milwaukee’s series lead to 2-1, Reuters reported. Jake Cronenworth hit a tiebreaking homer in the fifth inning, and then Game 2 starter Michael King did something no pitcher has done in nearly 60 years to slam the door.
The Padres Brewers NLDS has been defined by late-game knife fights — all three games have been one-run affairs — and Tuesday’s was the tensest yet. Christian Yelich’s line drive up the middle in the ninth, with the tying and winning runs on base, ended in Xander Bogaerts’ glove on a short hop, and the shortstop completed a game-ending double play to send the Petco Park crowd into delirium.
Michael King Makes Padres Brewers NLDS History Out of the Bullpen
The ninth inning was supposed to be impossible for San Diego. Star closer Mason Miller had been placed on the paternity list about 45 minutes before first pitch — his wife, Jordan, gave birth to their first child, a boy named Lincoln, on Tuesday — and top setup man Adrian Morejon was unavailable with what the club called “a little stickiness” in his shoulder, NBC Sports reported.
Enter Michael King. The Padres ace had thrown 72 pitches as the Game 2 starter just two days earlier — and five one-run innings with six strikeouts, per Reuters — but he told manager Craig Stammen he was ready for Games 3, 4 and 5. Called on to protect a 4-3 lead in the eighth, King allowed one hit and two walks across two scoreless innings for his first save since 2023, his first with the Padres and his first ever in the postseason.
According to OptaSTATS, King became the only pitcher since saves became an official statistic in 1969 to start a postseason game and record a two-inning save within the next two days. “I made myself available,” King said afterward. “Six outs to end the game is six outs to end the game.”
USA Today added a delightful coda: Miller spent the day with his wife and newborn and didn’t even check the score until he was about to fall asleep — learning from the midwife, a Padres fan, that his season was still alive and that it was King, not Morejon, who got the save. Miller reported for duty Wednesday morning.
Jake Cronenworth’s Homer Sets Up the Padres Brewers NLDS Escape
The Padres Brewers NLDS Game 3 was a back-and-forth scrap from the start. San Diego jumped out 2-0 in the third on RBI singles from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado — after Samad Taylor and Jackson Merrill singled and stole second — before Milwaukee answered. William Contreras homered in the fourth, his second of the series, and Cooper Pratt’s sacrifice fly off Jackson Chourio’s 242-foot fly tied it in the fifth, right after Nick Pivetta exited.
Cronenworth broke the tie immediately, leading off the bottom of the fifth by jumping on JoJo Romero’s first pitch — a sweeper — and sending it over the wall for a 3-2 lead. It was only his second hit of the postseason, and it stood as the game-winner until the Padres manufactured an insurance run in the sixth: Bogaerts singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored when Pratt’s throw to first bounced in front of Jake Bauers and caromed away after Miguel Andújar’s broken bat sent a grounder skittering between a leaping Bogaerts at shortstop, per Reuters.
Milwaukee outhit San Diego 11 to 6 and left 11 runners on base. Contreras went 3-for-4 with a walk and a homer, and Yelich’s seventh-inning RBI single was his first playoff RBI since 2018 — snapping a 19-game, 87-plate-appearance drought — but the Brewers still lost their 12th consecutive postseason road game, a streak dating back to the 2018 NLCS, according to NBC Sports.
What Game 3 Means for the Padres Brewers NLDS
The Padres’ season survives at least one more day, and the momentum has quietly shifted. Milwaukee, the majors’ best regular-season team at 103-59, now has to close out a scrappy San Diego club on the road instead of sweeping. In Game 2, the Brewers walked off the Padres on Jackson Chourio’s heroics, and the two losses in Milwaukee were each decided in the final innings — none of which rattled this San Diego group.
Yuki Matsui (1-0) earned the win after retiring three batters across the fifth and sixth innings, and Stammen got contributions from a taxed bullpen that had to cover after Nick Pivetta yielded two runs over five-plus frames. Dustin May, meanwhile, gave the Brewers three innings in a short start, allowing two runs on three hits.
Game 4 was set for Wednesday night at Petco Park — with a first pitch of 9 p.m. CT on FS1, per Fox 6 Milwaukee — and a decisive Game 5, if necessary, would be back in Milwaukee on Friday. The winner advances to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, which begins Sunday; the Dodgers clinched their berth with a Game 4 win over Atlanta and will host the NLCS opener at Dodger Stadium if the Padres complete the comeback, or travel to Milwaukee if the Brewers hold on.
FAQ
What was the score of Padres vs Brewers NLDS Game 3?
The Padres beat the Brewers 4-3 on October 6, 2026, at Petco Park. Jake Cronenworth’s tiebreaking homer in the fifth inning and a six-out save from Michael King kept San Diego alive in the best-of-five series, which Milwaukee led 2-1.
What made Michael King’s save historic?
King became the only pitcher since saves became an official statistic in 1969 to start a postseason game and then record a two-inning save within the next two days, per OptaSTATS. He was pressed into duty after closer Mason Miller went on the paternity list (his wife gave birth Tuesday) and Adrian Morejon was unavailable with a fatigued shoulder.
When is Padres Brewers NLDS Game 4?
Game 4 was scheduled for Wednesday night, October 7, at Petco Park in San Diego (first pitch 9 p.m. CT on FS1). If a Game 5 is needed, it would be played Friday in Milwaukee.
How did the Brewers lose three straight one-run games’ worth of momentum?
Milwaukee led the series 2-0 heading into Game 3 but all three games were one-run nail-biters decided by late-game execution. The Brewers outhit the Padres 11-6 in Game 3 and left 11 runners on base, extending their postseason road losing streak to 12 straight games.
Sources: Reuters, NBC Sports / AP, USA Today
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