Miller Admits To Possibility That He Was Tipping Pitches

The San Diego Padres are facing an elimination game on Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, and they’re also facing the possibility that their closer was tipping pitches in their devastating Game 2 loss, according to reports form Alden Gonzalez of ESPN and AJ Cassavell and Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

Miller was lit up for two runs in a rare blown save in the ninth inning of Sunday’s 4-3 loss. Most of the problem was about walks, as Miller issued three free passes, but the final at bat against Jackson Chourio featured some close takes, including one on a 1-2 slider just below the strike zone where Chourio seemed to know what was coming. 

The Padres closer called that one a “really close take,” but he’s watched the videos and still images that are all over the internet, and Miller has also seen material that isn’t publicly available. He wouldn’t divulge it if he thought he was tipping regardless, but he said he doesn’t think he “just magically started doing it.” 

Miller sailed through the eighth inning of his two-inning save attempt without giving up a hit, which backs up his case to some extent. The more likely possibility is that he does this when fatigue sets in during the second inning of a multi-inning save when it gets harder to maintain the same tenacity. 

Stammen noted that possibility in his comments about the issue, and he indicated that the Padres may have to make some strategic adjustments going forward. 

The biggest adjustment the Padres need to make, though, is to start hitting. A breakout game offensively would change the conversation completely, and it would help the Padres put the Brewers on their heels. 

Instead it’s been Milwaukee that’s taken the initiative, as the Padres couldn’t add to the early leads they took in both games over the weekend. 

Their pitchers were under constant pressure from the  Brewers’ small-ball execution, and it seemed like only a matter of time before one of them cracked, although it was remarkable that it happened to Miller. 

The Padres have been able to play Milwaukee even, which is an accomplishment in and of itself given that the Brewers won 103 games during the regular season. But they haven’t been able to get over the top and get a win, and if they don’t do it on Tuesday night they’ll be spending their offseason thinking about pitch-tipping and what might have been.