The San Diego Padres suffered a tough loss against the Brewers, but they'll get a chance to even the series.
The San Diego Padres get their second chance to beat the Milwaukee Brewers and tie the NLDS at 1-1 on Sunday after suffering a tough 3-2 loss in the opener. That game featured a potential game-winning home run from Ty France that was instead caught for an out by left fielder Jackson Chourio after the ball hit a wire while ascending toward the roof in American Family Field.
The Padres do have something to build on going forward, however. The Padres were able to get a lead early against Milwaukee starter Jacob Misiorowski, but they weren’t able to hold it as Robbie Ray had some typical control issues and couldn’t make it out of the third inning.
The Padres will ride or die with staff ace Michael King, and it will be interesting to see how far manager Craig Stammen goes with him. King was brilliant in his last outing against the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card round, as he pitched seven innings of shutout ball while givein up just one hit and three walks to go with eight strikeouts.
King will undoubtedly want to go the distance, but this projects as another tight game, which means the timing of Stammen’s hook will be a major issue.
One thing King will be looking to avoid is the long ball issues that plagued the Padres yesterday. Chourio was able to tie the game after the Padres took an early lead with a two-run homer off Ray, and reliever Adrian Morejon gave up the solo shot that would prove to be the game-winning solo homer to William Contreras in the seventh inning.
Milwaukee will send Logan Henderson to the hill, and he’s been outstanding, although this will be his first postseason start after the Brewer’s first-round bye. He’ll be another tough matchup for the Padres, as he pitched to a 2.47 ERA with a WHIP of just 0.87.
On paper this pitching matchup favors the Brewers, but that was also the case in the first game and the Padres were able to put themselves in a position to win with an early lead had Ray held up better.
A win would pull the Padres even with two games coming up at Petco Park, while a loss would send them home with their backs against the wall. It’s hard to think this game will be much different than the first one, so expect another nail-biting pitchers duel with the outcome decided late.
