San Diego Falls Short In Game One's "Battle Of The Bullpens"

For two innings, the plan was being executed perfectly by the San Diego Padres as they faced off with the Milwaukee Brewers in Game One of the National League Divisional Series on Saturday night.

Using some intelligent at-bats, the Padres cobbled together a two-run second inning against Milwaukee's fireballing ace Jacob Misiorowski courtesy of designated hitter Luis Campusano's RBI single that knocked in Xander Bogaerts and first baseman Jake Cronenworth's fielder's choice that plated Ethan Salas.

In addition to giving the Padres an early 2-0 lead, they forced baseball's best starting pitcher this season to work exceptionally hard as Misiorowski needed 56 pitches to navigate the first two frames, all but ensuring he would likely not pitch beyond the fifth inning, at most.

On the other side, San Diego's veteran lefty Robbie Ray, a somewhat surprising choice by manager Craig Stammen to start Game One, worked a mostly "no muss, no fuss" first two innings for the Padres. After Ray retired the first four batters, Milwaukee's Christian Yelich looped a single to left, but Ray responded by striking out Cooper Pratt and getting Luis Lara to ground into a forceout.

Things changed in the bottom of the third, however, as Garrett Mitchell reached on an infield single before Joey Ortiz grounded to first with Mitchell moving to second. That turned the lineup over and brought to the fore one of the biggest questions surrounding Ray's start: would he be able to successfully navigate multiple times through the Brewers' lineup?

The question was answered immediately as Milwaukee leadoff man Jackson Chourio launched a home run over the left-center fence, tying the game 2-2. When three more Brewers reached base, Ray's night was done after 2.2 innings. Bradgley Rodriguez replaced him and coaxed Pratt into an inning-ending groundout that preserved the tie.

With Ray already in the showers and Misiorowski battling through his early travails, we would be treated to a "Battle of the Bullpens" in a game the Brewers would controversially win 3-2 courtesy of William Contreras' two-out homer in the bottom of the seventh.

It always appeared destined that the game - if not the entire series - would be decided by which team's bullpen performed best. During the regular season, Milwaukee and San Diego ranked first and second in the National League in bullpen ERA at 3.22 and 3.31, respectively, and were the top two in bullpen innings pitched with 647.2 for the Padres and 645.0 for the Brewers.

In total, the teams would use nine relief pitchers in the game, with only one being touched for a run, San Diego's Adrian Morejon, who allowed Contreras' game-winning HR. Before Morejon, Rodriguez, Yuki Matsui and Jason Adam combined for three hitless innings with Morejon pitching the final two, meaning they covered 5.1 frames in the game.

Misiorowski did exit after four innings and 88 pitches to be followed by Antonio Senzatela, Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and D.L. Hall. The Padres put a total of seven runners on base against that quartet but were unable to plate any runs.

Against Brewers' closer Trevor Megill, it appeared that the Padres might have gone ahead when Ty France's deep drive that may have been headed for the left-field seats struck a truss in the stadium's roof and dropped into Chourio's glove, with the stadium's ground rules dictating that it be recorded as an out.

Now, the Padres head to Game Two on Sunday (1 p.m. PT on FS1) trailing 1-0 but might they have a hidden advantage going into the game?

One of the relievers who did not appear on Saturday was San Diego closer Mason Miller. In previewing the game, MLB.com writer Will Leitch wondered if the Padres might be able to use the nearly unhittable Miller for multiple innings on Sunday.

"It looks like it’s going to be that kind of series, with two incredible bullpens and two evenly matched teams, with every pitch forever fraught with meaning and import," Leitch wrote. "With that in mind, it’s certainly of note that none of those 5-1/3 innings were thrown by Mason Miller - you know, that guy who is the most dominating, terrifying reliever in the entire sport. With both bullpens a little exhausted already...Miller is the weapon that hasn’t been fired yet."

So, while the Padres should hope for - and expect - a longer start from ace Michael King on Sunday, if the situation calls for it could Miller - who has worked two full innings only two times in a game this season - be in line for a stint as a multi-inning fireman? He's actually well-rested with only one inning worked since Sept. 26, so a two- or even three-inning appearance may be in the cards, if needed.