The San Diego Padres entered October baseball red-hot after winning 20 of their last 26 games in September. They held on to that momentum, sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card round. However, their dominance fizzled against the Milwaukee Brewers in the division series. After losing the first two games, it’s do-or-die for the Padres now. But for MLB Hall of Famer David Ortiz, all hopes are already lost for the team.
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“I’m sorry, guys; I have to break it to you. I have so much love for San Diego and everything, but golly, you were supposed to win this game. Now you’re out against the ropes. It’s over. I’m sorry,” said David Ortiz on FOX Sports. “Tatis, Machado, so much love for you guys. I want to stay in LA, but that game tonight say so many things.”
He added, “You were supposed to be flying to San Diego, dancing on the airplane tonight, and you let that one get away from you.”
For the second consecutive game, the Padres blew an early 2-0 lead, and the Brewers secured a walk-off victory. On Sunday, Ty France put the Padres on the scoreboard with an RBI single off Logan Henderson. In the top of the fifth, the Padres loaded the bases by capitalizing on Brice Turang’s error at second base. During the next at-bat, Cooper Pratt’s error at shortstop helped the Padres score another run and extend the lead to 2-0.
Padres’ game unraveled from there.
At the bottom of the fifth, the Brewers finally got an opening against Michael King. Sal Frelick hit an RBI single in the bottom half of the frame, scoring Cristian Yelich to make it a one-run game.
Ty France, again, retaliated with an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-1. But the Brewers capitalized on Jake Cronenworth’s error to make the score 3-2. Then, Craig Stammen tasked Mason Miller with the save in the eighth inning. He had to retire six hitters in two innings to earn the save.
One of the best closers out there, Miller (1.67 ERA) breezed through the eighth and faltered in the ninth. With one out, Miller gave up back-to-back walks to Yelich and Frelick, putting runners on first and second. He then walked another hitter to load the bases. Ultimately, Jackson Chourio became the Brewers’ walk-off hero as he singled, scoring Frelick and Yelich to take the game 4-3.
Following the game, Miller blamed himself for the loss.
“Terrible,” Miller said. “I didn’t do my job today, so instead of being in here with a win and a series tie, we’re in a hole, so it feels pretty bad.”
The Padres are now down 0-2 in the series, and every game ahead is a must-win for them to keep their playoff run alive. They will have home-field advantage at Petco Park when they face the Brewers for Games 3 and 4.