Cronenworth Homer and King Save Keep Padres Alive in NLDS

The San Diego Padres avoided postseason elimination on Tuesday night with a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the NLDS.

The San Diego Padres defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Tuesday night at Petco Park to trim Milwaukee's lead in the best-of-five National League Division Series to 2-1. Jake Cronenworth provided the decisive run with a tiebreaking home run, while Xander Bogaerts secured the final two outs by turning a game-ending double play on a Christian Yelich line drive in the ninth inning. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado each recorded early RBIs for San Diego.

Michael King, who started Game 1 just two days prior, pitched the final two innings to earn his first career postseason save. King entered the game after closer Mason Miller was placed on the paternity list 45 minutes before the first pitch. Despite issuing walks to William Contreras and Brice Turang in the ninth, King held the lead to snap Milwaukee's 12-game road losing streak in the postseason. Pitching coach Ruben Niebla expects Miller to return for the next matchup.

Milwaukee left 11 runners on base in the loss. William Contreras led the Brewers' offense with three hits and a home run, while Christian Yelich recorded his first playoff RBI since 2018 with a single in the seventh inning. The series remains in San Diego for Game 4 on Wednesday night, with a potential Game 5 scheduled for Friday in Milwaukee.