The Clubhouse DJ: Cronenworth Homers, Michael King Closes as Padres Stave Off Brewers 4-3 to Force NLDS Game 4
By Nate Mercer ·
Xander Bogaerts went down to his knees at shortstop, picked Christian Yelich's 107 mph shot up the middle on a short hop, stepped on second and threw to first. That ended it Tuesday night at Petco Park. The Brewers had the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first with one out in the ninth, and instead the Padres won 4-3 and cut Milwaukee's lead in the NLDS to 2-1.
Jake Cronenworth hit the tiebreaking homer in the fifth. Michael King, who started Game 2 on Sunday and threw 72 pitches, got the last six outs for his first save since 2023, his first in the postseason and his first as a Padre, according to the AP. San Diego needed him because Mason Miller, the closer Jackson Chourio beat with a walk-off single in Game 2, went on the paternity list about 45 minutes before first pitch, the AP reported.
King came on in the eighth. Cooper Pratt lined out to Fernando Tatis Jr. in right, Sal Frelick grounded out, pinch-hitter David Hamilton singled and Chourio grounded out. In the ninth, King struck out Jake Bauers, then walked William Contreras on nine pitches and Brice Turang on six. Luis Lara ran for Contreras. Ethan Salas challenged ball four to Turang, and the call stood. Yelich swung at the first pitch he saw, a slider, and hit it hard up the middle.
"We know how unscripted this beautiful game of baseball can be, but at the same time," Tatis said, according to USA Today, "we've just got to take care of business."
San Diego got to Dustin May in the third. Samad Taylor, the DH after Gavin Sheets was scratched with a stiff neck according to USA Today, singled and stole second. Cronenworth bunted him to third, and Tatis drove him in with a groundout. Jackson Merrill singled, stole second and scored on Manny Machado's single to left for a 2-0 lead.
Contreras led off the fourth with a homer to left on a 2-2 sweeper from Nick Pivetta. May walked Salas to open the bottom half and was done after three innings and 52 pitches. JoJo Romero got out of it. In the fifth, Pratt and Frelick singled, Joey Ortiz bunted them up, and Jason Adam replaced Pivetta. Chourio's sacrifice fly tied it 2-2. Bauers walked and Contreras beat out a grounder to Bogaerts to load the bases, but Yuki Matsui came in and got Turang on a forceout.
Cronenworth led off the bottom of the fifth by hitting Romero's first pitch, an 80.5 mph sweeper, 368 feet to right. Milwaukee had another chance in the sixth. Yelich walked on four pitches, and after Garrett Mitchell struck out looking, Pratt singled and Frelick's groundout moved the runners to second and third. Bradgley Rodriguez came in and got Ortiz to fly out to Tatis.
The Padres added a run in the bottom of the sixth. Bogaerts singled with two outs off Antonio Senzatela, and DL Hall came in to face pinch-hitter Miguel Andujar. Hall's wild pitch moved Bogaerts to second, and Andujar chopped a ball to Pratt on a broken bat, according to USA Today. Pratt's throw got past Bauers at first, and Bogaerts scored to make it 4-2. Contreras threw out pinch-runner Jase Bowen trying to steal second to end the inning.
Rodriguez struck out Chourio and Bauers to start the seventh. Then Contreras singled, Turang's fly ball dropped in for a single after glancing off Bowen in left, and Yelich lined a single to center to score Contreras and make it 4-3. It was Yelich's first postseason RBI since 2018, according to the AP. Mitchell struck out swinging on four straight changeups with the tying run at second. Hall got through the seventh, and Abner Uribe retired the side on seven pitches in the eighth.
My favorite game is a 3-2 with good pitching and constant traffic. This one had the traffic: 17 hits, five pitchers for each side and 15 runners left on base. I'll accept 4-3 as close enough. Milwaukee outhit San Diego 11-6 and left 11 of those runners on, and the Brewers have now lost 12 straight postseason road games, a streak that dates to the 2018 NLCS, according to the AP. Contreras went 3-for-4 with the homer and a walk.
The final out came at 12:01 a.m. Central. There are worse ways to spend a Tuesday night, even one that runs into Wednesday.
Game 4 is Wednesday at 9 p.m. Central at Petco Park. The Brewers still need one more win to reach the NLCS, and a Game 5, if it comes to that, would be Friday afternoon in Milwaukee.