SAN DIEGO — It didn’t matter how. The Padres just needed to find a way. They lost two games to none and faced elimination Tuesday night in this instant classic of a National League Division Series against Milwaukee. They didn’t have Mason Miller or Adrián Morejón in the back end of their bullpen. They found themselves on the ropes again and again in a Game 3 that swung back and forth deep into the San Diego night. But when the dust settled… when Somehow, they had found a way. Ace Michael King, two days after pitching five innings in Game 2, recorded the final six outs of San Diego’s impressive 4-3 Game 3 victory over Milwaukee. His 40th pitch was a slider that Christian Yelich hit at 107 mph off Bogaerts, who started a game-ending double play that sent Petco Park into a frenzy. In the midst of the delirium, King stood still on the mound and slowly smiled. It had been more than four years since he last recorded a save. But if there ever was a time, this was it. “I’ve got bullets in my arm that I don’t want to save,” King said afterward. “You’re in an elimination game, you want everyone to be all in. Not just me included. We have a bunch of dogs down there that are all in.” Elimination game? The Padres also have another one on Wednesday night. The Brewers lead the series, 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for Wednesday at 7 pm PT. If the first three games are any indication, expect plenty of drama. All three have been decided by a single run, the first time a postseason series has begun with three one-run games since the 2021 National League Championship Series between the Dodgers and Braves. “We finally got through on this one,” manager Craig Stammen said. And they did it without their two best relief weapons. A few hours before Tuesday’s first pitch, Miller called the Padres. His wife had gone into labor. He would not be available for Game 3 and was subsequently placed on the paternity list. His absence would complicate things, but the Padres had long been planning for this eventuality. And, at least on paper, they had another elite relief weapon to fill that closer role. Or so we all thought. Unbeknownst to the public (and the Brewers), Morejón had been dealing with fatigue in his left shoulder. “Sticky,” Stammen called it. Morejón played ball before the game. He even pitched from the bullpen mound. But the Padres were not going to press. “It was difficult to map out from the beginning,” Stammen said. “Just because those two guys aren’t available, and we’d been relying on them a lot all year. It was an opportunity for the other guys to pick those two.” Apparently nothing will be easy in this series, and why should it be? These are the Brewers with 103 wins, owners of the best record in baseball. If the Padres are going to make the remarkable comeback they believe they are capable of, it will take a Herculean effort. Clearly. The task is only one-third finished, and consider what the Padres spent to get here. “At the end of the day, it was win or go home, right?” said Manny Machado. “Our backs were against the wall. We had nothing to lose but to go out and play baseball like we’ve been doing all year.” For the third straight game, San Diego took an early two-run lead. For the third straight game, Milwaukee erased that deficit. Jake Cronenworth’s solo home run (left to left against Brewers reliever JoJo Romero) put the Padres ahead for good. The ending was anything but simple. Bogaerts’ baserunning ability created the fourth run. With a leaping motion, he evaded Miguel Andújar’s ground ball and broken bat on his way to third base. When Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt threw the ball, Bogaerts ran to the plate and slid safely. Milwaukee got one back, but Bradgley Rodríguez escaped in the seventh inning with the lead intact. And that’s when it became clear: this was not going to be the ending anyone had imagined. King spent the seventh inning pacing the bullpen. Finally the phone rang. He hadn’t pitched in relief since Game 3 of last year’s Wild Card Series. But that was different. Otherwise, King did not pitch in that series. In this case, he had thrown 72 pitches two days ago. “He came into the office today and said I’m available,” Stammen said. “I knew there was a chance the game would be late because of Mason’s wife,” King said. “But six outs to end the game is six outs to end the game. I wasn’t as sharp as I’d like to be. But I’m very happy for Game 4.” (Yes, he wants to pitch in that one, too.) It wasn’t clear that Morejón was unavailable until King sat in the dugout after his scoreless eighth. Where one would expect action in the Padres bullpen, there was none. This would be King’s game to win or lose. “It’s all hands on deck,” Cronenworth said. “He came out and picked us up in a big way.” King became the 16th pitcher to pitch five innings as a starter and record a save in the same playoff series since saves became an official statistic in 1969. He is the first since current teammate Walker Buehler in the 2024 World Series. Fittingly, with their season on the line once again, the Padres will hand the ball to Buehler in Game 4. Their plans beyond Buehler remain unclear. These largely depend on the availability of Miller and/or Morejón. The Fathers simply don’t know. But his goal is the same as Tuesday night:
