The San Diego Padres fanbase must have been quaking in their boots after witnessing Michael King allow two consecutive walks with just one out in the top of the ninth with the Milwaukee Brewers down by one run, 4-3, in Game 3 of the NLDS. The Padres were facing elimination, and relinquishing the lead in the top of the ninth would have spelled disaster, and perhaps the end of their season.

King already had to suit up for the Padres to spare the team's bullpen with their season on the line. Blowing the lead would have been all the more heartbreaking. But this was not to be. Facing Christian Yelich, who earlier in the game had cut the Brewers' deficit to just one run with an RBI single, King induced a ground ball on the very first pitch of the at-bat with two runners on.

The ball was hit sharply towards the direction of Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who managed to pick it up cleanly and go straight to the bag at second for one out before throwing it to first base to get Yelich — securing the double play to get San Diego out of the jam to force a Game 4 at Petco Park.

Xander Bogaerts turns the double play, Michael King locks down the save, and the @Padres live to see Game 4! pic.twitter.com/vYXcWkxjJ3

— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2026

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Bogaerts also scored the Padres' insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. He hit a single with two outs to keep the inning alive, moved to second base on a wild pitch from the Brewers, and he scored on a broken bat ground ball from Miguel Andujar that threw Cooper Pratt for a loop and forced a throwing error out of him.

The Padres needed everything to go their way for once, and the baseball gods did not disappoint. They deserve plenty of credit for staying the course even though many believed that they were done for after the Brewers won Game 2 in walk-off fashion. Now, they have momentum heading into Game 4, as they face another backs against the wall scenario.