SAN DIEGO — The Padres capped a brilliant 5-1 homestand with a win and a sweep of the Brewers on Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park. A Luis Campusano single dropped Sung-Mun Song in the bottom of the 11th and sent San Diego to a 4-3 victory in one of the most dramatic games of their season. No matter how it ended, this would have been a fantastic homestand for the Padres. But it ended in extraordinary fashion, and with San Diego moving one game ahead of the Phillies and Diamondbacks, who lost. Here are some takeaways from Petco Park, ahead of a much-needed day off on Thursday: A gutsy eighth-inning rally With two outs and no one left in the eighth inning, the Padres put together a streak of three brilliant plate appearances in a row to tie the game. Fernando Tatis Jr., who was pinch-hitting after having the day off, issued a four-pitch walk. Luis Rengifo followed with a brilliant nine-pitch at-bat and then earned a walk. That brought up Jake Cronenworth, prompting Brewers manager Pat Murphy to turn to left-hander Aaron Ashby. Cronenworth threw a nine-pitch at-bat, and in the ninth, he threw a helicopter to first. But he was running out of the box and Ashby was a split second late to cover. Cronenworth was safe. Tatis was also breaking from second base and scored on the play. Without hitting a ball out of the infield, the Padres had tied the game at 2 on an ultra-dramatic two-out play. The stakes are high… and it shows that the Padres have perhaps the best bullpen in the game. They have now completed a stretch of 26 games in 27 days and are expected to have off days much more regularly in the coming weeks. There will be opportunities for manager Craig Stammen to drive aggressively. As he did on Wednesday. New acquisition Robbie Ray tore through four two-run innings. He needed 84 pitches. With a relatively fresh roster and a day off approaching on Thursday, Stammen didn’t hesitate. He passed to Bradgley Rodríguez for the top of the fifth. Rodríguez, one of the most influential arms of the Padres, worked two excellent scoreless frames. Jeremiah Estrada followed with a clean seventh. Kyle Hart, newly promoted to high leverage, was in and out of trouble in the eighth. That is the nature of the deep pen of the Fathers. They can use some of their best weapons in a game they are losing. (Before handing it off to Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon once the game was tied, of course). Jase Bowen, who is primarily used as a speed or defensive option off the bench, came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied at 1. He came within an inch of winning the game. Twice. First, Bowen hit a hard ground ball down the line, called a foul by third base umpire Malachi Moore. He couldn’t have fouled by more than an inch or two. A couple of pitches later, Bowen immediately hit what looked like the game-winning single to center. But Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell was playing and dove to send the game into extras.
