What a heartbreaking way to lose a game. The San Diego Padres had what appeared to be the go-ahead run over the Milwaukee Brewers when Ty France slugged a moonshot out to left field in the top of the ninth inning. Instead, the ball hit the roof and fell straight down into Jackson Chourio’s glove for an out. It almost certainly would have been a homer, but the official ruling is out.
However, San Diego had plenty of positives. The offense got to ace Jacob Misiorowski, tagging him for two runs before he was lifted in the fourth inning. After that, it got hazy. The Padres kept taking worse and worse at-bats as the game went on. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado both struck out on three pitches in key situations. They’ll need to do better to even the series this afternoon.
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Taking the mound
Logan Henderson (MIL) v. Michael King (SD)
What Henderson doesn’t have in tenure, he makes up for in immense recent success. The right-hander posted a 2.47 ERA in 18 starts (98.1 IP) this season with a 1.93 ERA in his final seven starts of the year. Henderson would have been the best pitcher in Milwaukee’s starting rotation if not for a young flamethrower named Jacob Misiorowski.
The 24-year old has never faced the Padres, which should be an advantage for him. His four-seamer, changeup combo is devastating, but if San Diego can have some plate discipline they should be able to beat Henderson. If their offense keeps trying to play the hero, it’ll be another story.
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King will be making his second start of this postseason, after pitching a gem against the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the Wild Card series. King took a no-hitter into the seventh that night and was incredibly dominant against a potent offense. He’ll need to do the same this afternoon to give the Padres a shot at winning the series at home.
The Padres’ ace faced the Brewers only once this season (May 13), when he faced off against Misiorowski. King twirled 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball. There’s an immense amount of pressure on King to perform similar to his Wild Card start. If he can get through six quality innings, it’ll be a huge sigh of relief for San Diego.
Batter up!
It was a rough game for the offense. The Padres could have won the game if they hadn’t regressed so much from how they looked in the Wild Card. San Diego’s lineup left 12 runners on and went a dismal 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The Friars will need to wake up if they have any hope of evening the Division Series in Milwaukee.
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It’s possible that Sheets continues to only be used in pinch-hit situations. He is still dealing with a foot injury that sidelined him for much of the stretch run. However, with his potent bat left on the bench in Game 1, it’s likely that San Diego turns to the slugger in such an important moment.
Relief corps
The Padres expended a lot of high-leverage relievers in the series opener last night. After starter Robbie Ray went just 2 2/3 innings, San Diego turned to Bradgley Rodriguez, Yuki Matsui, Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon to pitch the final frames. Mason Miller is the only traditional reliever left for the Friars.
That being said, with the off day on Monday, it’s highly likely that everyone except Morejon will be on the table. The southpaw threw two innings and probably won’t pitch unless it’s absolutely necessary. Matsui and Adam each threw just 15 and 16 pitches, respectively, so they’ll factor as the first out of the ‘pen. Should King stumble early, Randy Vásquez could enter the game in bulk relief.
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