NLDS: Bogaerts, Padres Nip Brewers to Extend Series

Xander Bogaerts of the Padres diving into home to score a run in Game Three of the 2026 NLDS against the Brewers

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

October 6, 2026

Padres 4, Brewers 3 — NLDS Game Three

There will be tomorrow, San Diego. Led by two defensive gems and heads-up baserunning from Xander Bogaerts, the San Diego Padres edged the Milwaukee Brewers, 4–3, Tuesday night in San Diego.

Brewers – Padres Game Summary

The Padres took a 2–0 lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI groundout by Fernando Tatis Jr. and an RBI single by Manny Machado. One half-inning later, the Brewers got one of those runs back when William Contreras belted a leadoff homer to left.

The Brewers tied it in the top of the fifth after Padres starter Nick Pivetta hit a figurative wall. A pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt brought up Jackson Chourio with runners on second and third and one out. Chourio hit a fly to left off new pitcher Jason Adam that seemed too shallow to bring Cooper Pratt home with the tying run. However, Pratt took off and dove in ahead of the throw home.

One half-inning later, Jake Cronenworth brought the lead back to the Padres with a first-pitch homer to right off reliever JoJo Romero, who entered the game in the previous inning. They extended their lead in the sixth on a bizarre play. With Xander Bogaerts on second and two outs, pinch-hitter Miguel Andujar hit a broken-bat grounder to short. The broken piece flew end-over-end toward short. Bogaerts jumped and spread his legs, the bounding ball going through his wicket. Pratt gloved it and fired low to first. The ball did not hit fully on grass or on dirt but instead hit the lip, making it next to impossible for Jake Bauers to scoop the throw. The ball got away from him long enough for Bogaerts to scamper home and make the score 4–2.

Another Tight Finish

The resilient Brewers fought right back in the top of the seventh. Three straight two-out singles by Contreras, Brice Turang, and Christian Yelich cut the Padres lead to 4–3.

With closer Mason Miller on the paternity list and setup man Adrian Morejon unavailable, Game Two starter Michael King — a former reliever — took the hill in the top of the eighth. Despite allowing a hit in the eighth and two walks in the ninth, he pitched two scoreless innings to slam the door on the Brewers and give the Padres “tomorrow.”

What Went Right for the Padres

Bogaerts

Xander Bogaerts made a diving stop to prevent Contreras’ fifth-inning single from reaching the outfield. This likely prevented Sal Frelick from scoring from second, which would have been the go-ahead run at the time. Instead, Frelick had to hold at third, and Turang followed by grounding into a force play for the third out.

Bogaerts also made a heads-up play running the bases to jump over Andujar’s broken-bat grounder. Had the ball hit him, he would have been out, and the inning would have ended. Instead, it gave the Padres their fourth run.

On the final play of the game, Yelich smoked a low rocket toward short. Bogaerts dropped to the ground to field it on one hop. Then he popped up, hustled to tag the bag at second, and fired to first in time for a game-ending double play.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of the play, “Do you fault Yelly for hitting one 107 there and Bogaerts making a great play? They (the Padres) have a great team, and they played great defense tonight. They really did.”

Defense from Merrill

Jackson Merrill ran down a deep fly to the warning track off the bat of Jackson Chourio for the first out of the game. Two innings later — with Murphy giving the Fox telecast a live interview — Merrill made a tumbling catch to rob Frelick of a definite double and possible triple. This catch spurred Murphy to stop the interview mid-sentence and shout an expletive in frustration.

Murphy said of the two catches, “Those are two leadoff doubles for sure. Usually when you get a leadoff double, there’s a probability of scoring.”

Stranding Inherited Runners

Padres relievers combined to inherit seven runners. Only one scored, happening in the fifth inning off Jason Adam.

What Went Wrong for the Padres

Unavailable Relievers

As mentioned earlier, closer Mason Miller went on the paternity list prior to the game. Morejon also did not warm up before his usual innings despite being physically present on the bench in the Padres’ bullpen. Padres manager Craig Stammen confirmed after the game that Morejon was unavailable. “Still feeling a little stickiness in the shoulder,” Stammen said. “We’re trying to work through it, doing everything we can to get him ready. We’ll see his status about tomorrow. He was definitely feeling a little bit better today but didn’t feel like he could go.”

What Went Right for the Brewers

William Contreras

Contreras went 3-for-4 with a homer, an RBI, a walk, and two runs scored.

Resilience

The Brewers fell behind, 2–0, but tied the game. They later fell behind, 4–2, but scored to make it 4–3. At no point in this series has either team been behind by more than two runs.

What Went Wrong for the Brewers

Missed Opportunities

The Brewers left 11 runners on base, with six being in scoring position. In the fifth, sixth, and seventh alone they combined to leave seven on base, five of which were in scoring position. The fifth inning saw them leave the bases loaded, and the sixth saw them leave runners on second and third.

Bad Luck with the Broken Bat

The sixth-inning broken-bat grounder by Miguel Andujar led to a Brewers throwing error and the fourth Padres run. At the time, it gave the Padres a 4–2 lead. Obviously, since the final score was 4–3, it turned out to be what gave them enough to win. Though it’s impossible to know for sure, had the bat shard taken another path, Pratt might have made a better throw.

Quotes

“It was hard to map out from the beginning because both of those guys (Miller and Morejon) were unavailable, and we’d relied on them so much throughout the year. It was a chance for the other guys to pick those two up. We relied on them and got a lot of wins because they pitched so well this season. All the other guys stepped up and did their job today.” — Padres manager Craig Stammen

Quick Hits

Cronenworth’s fifth-inning homer was the second extra-base hit by a Padre all series. Their first came on a first-inning double by Machado in Game One.

Yelich’s RBI single in the seventh was his first postseason RBI since Game Seven of the 2018 NLCS, which was a 5–1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The loss was the 12th straight playoff loss on the road for the Brewers. They last won a road playoff game October 15, 2018, which was Game Three of the NLCS. It was a 4–0 win over Walker Buehler and the Dodgers. Buehler is currently on the Padres and might start Game Four if he returns from paternity leave in time.

Looking Ahead

Yuki Matsui earned the win for the Padres as Romero took the loss for the Brewers, both in relief. King notched the save.

The Padres and Brewers will return to the diamond Wednesday for Game Four, with the Brewers getting another chance to close out the series. First pitch will be at 7 pm Pacific/9 pm Central. Neither team had announced a starting pitcher as of press time.