SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres, who are trying to stave off elimination again Wednesday in their National League Division Series against Milwaukee, received a huge boost with All-Star closer Mason Miller returning to the team.
Miller was away from the team Tuesday when his wife, Jordan, went into labor with their first child. The Padres placed him on the paternity list and they added Wandy Peralta.
There were no complications with the birth, Padres manager Craig Stammen said, and Miller informed the team he would be ready to pitch in Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers, trailing 2 games to 1.
Miller, who lost Game 2 when he tried to complete a six-out save for only the second time this season, should be fresh having two complete days off since
he last pitched.
The Padres weren’t as sure about the availability of left-handed setup man Adrian Morejon, who was unable to pitch in Game 3 with an inflamed shoulder, with ace Michael King needing to come in for the final two innings, and saving his first game since 2023.
“We’re waiting for him to come in and see how he's feeling," Stammen said. “He was feeling a little bit better postgame last night. So we're hopeful that he'll be available.
“We’ll bring him in, trainers check him out, go out and play catch, see how he feels, if he wants to throw off the mound or not. Re-evaluate what that looks like, how he feels, talk with him one-on-one, talk to the group, and then decide what our pitching plan is for the game."
If Morejon, who’s a free agent after the season, is unavailable, he would have five compete days off for a potential Game 5 in Milwaukee.
“I think it's easier for us obviously during the regular season to give him days off,’’ Stammen said, “or to give him three days off in a row like we have during the season. The playoffs, it's just very heightened, and I'm getting questions asked about it every day. He's expected to pitch in every game. So when he doesn't, there's a lot of questions that arise.
“What we've done with all the pitchers and what we do as an organization is we try to take care of them. We try to take care of Adrian as best we can.’’
If the Padres forced a Game 5, the Padres aren’t sure who would start, but could go back to King, who threw 72 pitches in Game 2 and 40 pitches in Game 3.
Stammen, in fact, insists he could be available in the bullpen in Game 4.
“We're at that point in the season where it's everybody, whatever they can give us,’’ Stammen said, “we're going to use. There is no tomorrow if we don't win tonight.’’
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mason Miller returns to Padres after missing playoff game on paternity list
