'Beast' King steps up in relief to help Padres stay alive in NLDS — SkimNews
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- Michael King told teammates after his Game 2 start that he'd be available out of the bullpen for the next two games, and on Tuesday he delivered two scoreless relief innings to close out a 4-3 Padres win over the Brewers at Petco Park.
- Mason Miller was placed on the paternity list at 5:47 p.m. PT — about 45 minutes before first pitch — to be present for the birth of his first child, with Wandy Peralta replacing him on the roster, while Adrian Morejon sat out with a stiff left shoulder manager Craig Stammen described as 'a little stickiness' and pitching coach Ruben Niebla called 'a little fatigued.'
- Jake Cronenworth broke a 2-2 tie with a leadoff homer in the fifth — his second hit of the postseason and just his second home run off a left-hander all year — and Xander Bogaerts scored in the sixth on a play disrupted by Miguel Andujar's broken bat, which forced Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt into a low throw that got past first baseman Jake Bauers.
- King navigated a one-out, two-on jam in the ninth when Christian Yelich ripped a 107.1 mph line drive that Bogaerts fielded on a hop, stepped on second and fired to first for the game-ending 4-6-3 double play.
- The Padres scored first for the third straight game in the series and built a multi-run lead on the 103-win Brewers, with Jackson Merrill delivering an RBI single in the third and two spectacular catches in the outfield.
- San Diego dropped Game 1 on a Ty France fly ball that clanked off a roof cable at American Family Field and Game 2 on Chourio's walk-off single off Miller in the ninth, making Tuesday's victory essential to keep the season alive going into Wednesday's Game 4.
Why it matters: The Padres were already short-handed before first pitch, losing their closer to the paternity list and their top setup man to shoulder stiffness in the span of a day — and without King's two-inning save against the NL's top regular-season team, their season would have ended. Stammen and Niebla said both Morejon and Miller are expected back for Wednesday's Game 4, meaning King's early use could shorten San Diego's bullpen options in a winner-take-all matchup.
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