The Wild Card Series between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs was the most stress-free and lopsided playoff series the team has ever been a part of. The offense was relentless, and the pitching was dominant. It is unrealistic to expect that against the Milwaukee Brewers.
What we experienced instead was the most stressful and exhausting baseball of any playoff series in recent memory.
With the Friars kicked in the gut the first two games in Milwaukee, losing after being ahead in both games, the team
had their backs against the wall in their return home to Petco Park for a must-win Game 3.
Outstanding and a grind
The Friar Faithful likely witnessed the best game of the season in the 4-3 win over the Brewers on Tuesday night. All phases of their game had to be on point. After getting out to a two-run lead, the Padres had to keep responding to a Brewers team that just never quits. Tenacity applies to both teams in this series, and it’s a battle to the end of nine innings to determine who is still standing at the conclusion.
The 47,708 Padres fans in attendance joined the TV audience to fight through 3 hours and 22 minutes of grueling baseball. The competition was spectacular and exhausting.
Key pieces absent
What we didn’t know going into the must-win contest was that closer Mason Miller would be absent to attend the birth of his first child. And Adrian Morejon had a sore shoulder, which would keep them both away from competition.
Down their two most high-leverage relievers, the coaching staff had to put together a plan that would cover whatever innings starter Nick Pivetta left for the bullpen.
Their secret weapon was Michael King
At the conclusion of his start versus Milwaukee in the second game of the series, King told manager Craig Stammen that he would be available for the bullpen in games 3 and 4. After throwing 72 pitches on Sunday in their 4-3 loss, King was all in on providing more depth for the pitching staff. He was a reliever before becoming a starter, a perfect setup to provide reliable depth in the bullpen.
Instead of throwing his regular between-starts bullpen on Tuesday, King reported to the bullpen at the start of the game.
Bogaerts was as surprised as the Friar Faithful
Xander Bogaerts saw King starting to warm up before the eighth inning and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. In the postgame scrum at his locker, Bogaerts’ awe was obvious.
“It’s unbelievable him being available for that,” Bogaerts said.
Being available wasn’t the end of what King was intending. When it became clear that Miller would be away for the game, King became the de facto closer for the Padres. Called into action after Stammen used Jason Adam, Bradgley Rodriguez, and Yuki Matsui from the fifth through seventh innings, King was it for the last six outs. No one outside the organization knew that Morejon was unavailable. The Padres kept that piece of information very private before the game.
When the ninth inning began without anyone warming in the bullpen, it was obvious the burden was King’s to bear.
His six-out save was his first as a major league pitcher and kept the Friars afloat to fight another day.
A must-win Game 4
Manager Craig Stammen wasn’t willing to divulge the Game 4 starter at his postgame news conference on Tuesday night, but Walker Buehler would be the logical choice. That became official a couple of hours after the game, and pitching coach Ruben Niebla also said as much in his post-game scrum with the media.
Buehler last pitched on Sept. 26 against Arizona in the last series of the regular season. He allowed five hits and three runs over 3.2 innings with three strikeouts. He was unavailable to pitch in the first two games versus Milwaukee while attending the birth of his second child in San Diego.
Activated back to the roster on Oct. 5, Buehler should be fresh and tuned up for his start.
The big question now is who will be in the bullpen to back Buehler up. All hands on deck is the battle cry for any team in the postseason. Regular season constraints and workload considerations won’t apply. The staff can’t worry about saving anyone for the next game. There won’t be a next game without winning this one.
Niebla was optimistic that both Miller and Morejon would be a part of their plan for Game 4. He said as much during his postgame comments. The decision on Morejon won’t come until they evaluate him today. Niebla reported that he threw a bullpen session before the game on Tuesday, but he wasn’t healthy enough to pitch that day.
Gavin Sheets should return
The other player originally intended to be available on Tuesday was Gavin Sheets, who was penciled in to DH. He was scratched with a stiff neck that wasn’t responsive to treatment before the game. His availability for Game 4 will be assessed during pregame work. It was reported after the game on Tuesday that he had improved and was available in the eighth inning.
Luck and determination are needed
Hopefully, Morejon, Miller, and Sheets can all be ready for tonight, and the Padres will need more from their offense against the Brewers if they want to push the series to Game 5.
Fernando Tatis Jr. remains in a slump; he is 1-for-14 in the series. After chasing 10 of the 21 pitches he saw outside of the strike zone in the first two games, Tatis was more selective in Tuesday’s contest. He was able to make contact and drive in a run with a groundout in the third inning.
Jake Cronenworth hit a go-ahead home run to the Crone Zone in Game 3, his first meaningful contribution in the series after going 0-for-7 in the first two games. He also laid down a sacrifice bunt in the third inning that contributed to the team’s first run.
With contributions from the full lineup, the Padres will need their complete bullpen to step up. For these two home games, the entire pitching staff is available. Adam, Rodriguez, and Matsui carried the load on Tuesday. Joe Musgrove, Robbie Ray, and David Morgan will need to contribute for this series to continue.
King contends he is able to come in for Game 4 after throwing 41 pitches in his closer role in Game 3. It is likely his availability will be as an emergency-only option.
Luck and determination served the Padres well on Tuesday. They will need more of the same as well as increased contributions from their player depth. An offensive explosion would also be welcomed.
There is enough to pull this out if the team continues to play as a cohesive group and the contributions come from all through the roster. Beating this Brewers team is a challenge but the Friars have been playing with resilience and togetherness.
Both will be required to finish this out.
