SAN DIEGO -- The last time the Brewers won a postseason road game, they beat Walker Buehler and the Dodgers in Game 2 of the 2018 NLCS. It’s been nothing but frustration for Milwaukee since then -- 12 playoff losses and counting away from home going into Game 4 of what has been a scintillating NLDS.
And guess who will be on the mound for the Padres on Wednesday night?
Buehler.
The Padres tabbed the nine-year veteran to start after going all hands on deck to get to this game in the first place, using Game 2 starter Michael King as the Game 3 closer for the final two innings on Tuesday just two days after he pitched into the sixth inning on Sunday.
“The resilience we showed today, the stick-to-itiveness, the keep-bouncing-back, all the adjectives you can use for that,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said, “this team showed it all year.”
The Brewers, meanwhile, have plenty of rested arms capable of working multiple innings, but weren’t ready to announce a Game 4 starting pitcher as of Tuesday night. They are not in true “must win” territory just yet, but after tying the Senators/Twins franchise for the longest streak of road losses in the postseason, they would sure like to avoid being the first franchise to lose 13 playoff games in a row away from home.
In all best-of-five postseason series, teams that lose the first two games before winning Game 3 to avoid elimination have gone on to win again and force a Game 5 in 18 of 39 instances (46%). In 10 of those instances, they have come all the way back to win the series.
For the Brewers, there’s serious urgency to avoid either scenario. If they lose Game 4, they would have their ace, Jacob Misiorowski, ready to start Game 5 at home. But then he wouldn’t be available until the middle games of the NLCS, should Milwaukee advance.
When is the game and how can I watch it?
Game 4 of the Padres-Brewers NLDS airs nationally at 7 p.m. PT/9 p.m. CT on FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX One.
All series are available in the US on MLB.TV with authentication to a participating Pay TV provider. Games also are available live internationally, although not in Canada. Sportsnet is MLB's exclusive English language broadcaster in Canada for every Postseason game, while TVA Sports will be covering the entire AL Postseason and the World Series in French and Broadcaster RDS will cover the entire NL Postseason in French.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Brewers: TBD
Manager Pat Murphy mentioned a few of his multi-inning options after Tuesday’s game: left-handers Robert Gasser and Shane Drohan and right-hander Chad Patrick. They all started games during the regular season. So did left-hander Kyle Harrison before he lost his hold on a rotation spot down the stretch. Of those pitchers, Gasser is the true starter. He posted a 1.67 ERA over his final six outings down the stretch, beginning with 5 1/3 innings of emergency relief in New York on Aug. 26 when Dustin May was hit by a comebacker on the very first pitch of a game against the Mets. The Brewers used openers three times in last year’s postseason. That’s an option ahead of Gasser, since three of the first four hitters in the Padres’ usual lineup bat right-handed. Patrick would be a perfect fit for that role.
Padres: Walker Buehler
Key stats: 3.04 ERA in 19 career postseason outings; 3.62 ERA in 13 second-half starts*
The last time Buehler (9-6, 4.63 ERA) appeared in the postseason, he was closing out the World Series for the Dodgers in 2024. Suffice it to say, he’s been here before. Buehler has made 18 career playoff starts, and the Padres are entrusting him with another on Wednesday, two days after he was activated from the paternity list. The Padres went 10-3 in Buehler’s second half starts as he established himself as one of the most consistent arms in their starting rotation. He’s not quite the fireballer he was earlier in his career, using a bit more guile to get by. But he certainly won’t shy away from the stage.
What might the starting lineups look like?
Brewers: Three games, three different lineups so far for Murphy, who dropped Brice Turang to the cleanup spot for Game 3 so the Padres would be less likely to pitch around Jackson Chourio. Turang fell to 0-for-10 in the series and 2-for-40 over his last 11 postseason games before singling in the seventh inning. With Buehler going for San Diego, the Brewers might revert to the lineup they used against King in Game 2.
1. Jackson Chourio, LF
2. Brice Turang, 2B
3. Jake Bauers, 1B
4. William Contreras, C
5. Garrett Mitchell, CF
6. Christian Yelich, DH
7. Sal Frelick, RF
8. Cooper Pratt, SS
9. David Hamilton, 3B
Padres: The Padres moved the lefty-hitting Jackson Merrill to the No. 2 spot in the lineup before Game 3, and it stands to reason he’d stay there for Game 4, especially if the Brewers begin the game with a right-hander. There are major questions lower in the lineup. Who starts at DH? Who starts at catcher? Is Gavin Sheets healthy? But it’s entirely possible the Padres would run it back with the lineup that worked for them in Game 3.
1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Jackson Merrill, CF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Ty France, 1B
5. Ethan Salas, C
6. Xander Bogaerts, SS
7 .Dustin Harris, LF
8. Samad Taylor, DH
9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Brewers: Here’s something to think about: Would the Brewers use Misiorowski for an inning in Game 4 in lieu of a between-starts bullpen session? It’s possible, Murphy said at the start of this series. The Marlins employed a similar approach with their ace, Sandy Alcantara, down the stretch. It all depends on how the game unfolds ahead of the late innings, when the Brewers will have a rested Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill after neither pitched in Game 3.
Padres: Uhhh … Anyone’s guess here. Mason Miller landed on the paternity list ahead of Tuesday’s Game 3, and his status for Game 4 is unclear. Adrian Morejon would fill his closer spot, but he’s dealing with a bout of shoulder fatigue and is also uncertain. King covered for both on Tuesday, pitching the final two innings. But the Padres surely wouldn’t ask him to pitch again, after he’d worked five innings on Sunday in Milwaukee, right? It’s all a bit of a mess, with Bradgley Rodriguez, Yuki Matsui and Jason Adam all covering innings Tuesday night as well. Does that mean high leverage for Joe Musgrove? “He's going to have to be one of those guys,” Stammen said.
Any injuries of note?
Brewers: None
Padres: Sheets had been limited to DH and pinch-hitting duties after battling a foot issue for most of the second half. He was then scratched from the lineup in Game 3 due to a stiff neck, though the Padres said he was available off the bench. His status for Game 4 is entirely unclear. Same goes for Morejon.
Who is hot and who is not?
Brewers: Contreras is 4-for-11 in the series after collecting three hits including his second home run of the NLDS in Game 3, and Yelich is 4-for-10 with a double and his first RBI since Game 7 of the 2018 NLCS. … Left-handed hitters Turang, Bauers and Garrett are a combined 5-for-33 with 15 strikeouts in the series.
Padres: Machado has been on a tear to begin the postseason, hitting .375 with a 1.212 OPS. France and Bogaerts are scorching hot as well. Meanwhile, after notching two hits in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Cubs, Tatis has fallen into a funk. He’s just 1-for-18 since.