Padres beat Brewers 4-3 in NLDS Game 3 to stay alive behind Cronenworth and King

The San Diego Padres avoided elimination on Tuesday night, Oct. 6, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in Game 3 of the National League Division Series at Petco Park. Jake Cronenworth broke a tie with a solo home run in the fifth inning, and Michael King, who started Game 2, pitched the final two innings for the save. Milwaukee still leads the best-of-five series 2-1.

How did the Padres win Game 3?

San Diego scored first in the third inning. Samad Taylor and Jackson Merrill both singled and stole second, then came home on a Fernando Tatis Jr. groundout and a Manny Machado single. William Contreras answered with a solo homer in the fourth, and a Jackson Chourio sacrifice fly tied it in the fifth.

Cronenworth put the Padres back in front in the bottom of the fifth, driving JoJo Romero's first pitch over the right-field wall. San Diego added a run in the sixth when Xander Bogaerts scored on a throwing error by Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt, and Christian Yelich's RBI single in the seventh cut the lead to one.

Why was Michael King closing?

The Padres played without closer Mason Miller, who was placed on the paternity list shortly before first pitch. King, who had thrown five innings in Game 2 two days earlier, took over in the eighth. It was his first relief appearance of the season, according to MLB.com.

The ninth got tense. King walked Contreras and Brice Turang with one out, and Yelich lined a ball at 107 mph up the middle. Bogaerts went down to one knee, gloved the short hop, touched second and threw to first for a game-ending double play. The Associated Press, via ESPN, reported that it was King's first save since 2023 and his first in the postseason.

What it means for the series

All three games of this NLDS have been decided by one run. MLB.com noted that the last postseason series to start with three straight one-run games was the Dodgers-Braves NLCS in 2021. Milwaukee, which had the best regular-season record in the majors, has now lost 12 consecutive postseason road games dating to the 2018 NLCS, according to the AP. The Brewers also left 11 runners on base.

Game 4 is Wednesday, Oct. 7, at Petco Park, with first pitch at 10 p.m. ET. Neither team had named a starter as of Tuesday night. If San Diego wins again, Game 5 would be played Friday in Milwaukee.

The other NLDS

Earlier on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 at Truist Park and took a 2-1 lead in that series. Kiké Hernández hit a two-run homer and Freddie Freeman added a solo shot in the fourth inning. Game 4 is also on Wednesday in Atlanta.