The Megill Brewers turned a one-run deficit into a 4-3 walk-off win over the Padres in Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Sunday, and Mason Miller took the loss after walking three batters in the ninth inning. The result gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead in the NLDS and left the Padres needing three straight wins to keep their season alive.
Miller had entered with the plan for six outs, and he had handled the first half of that assignment. He struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth inning on 12 pitches, then came back for the ninth with the Padres still ahead 3-2. That frame unraveled fast. By the end of it, the Brewers had the walk-off hit and Miller had his fourth blown save of the year, his third in his last 14 appearances.
That is what made Sunday sting more than a routine bullpen swing. Miller was not being asked to protect a narrow lead for one inning and one batter at a time; he was being stretched because the Padres had already used Adrian Morejón for six outs in taking the loss on Saturday. Craig Stammen said the top of the Brewers’ lineup in the eighth helped make the call for Miller, and he added that the club went in thinking of him for six outs after that quick inning. The Brewers, baseball’s winningest team and a 103-win club, forced the issue simply by staying in front long enough to make the longer bridge matter.
Afterward, Miller sat quietly at his locker and said the rule had been simple. “Cardinal rule is pretty much: You don’t beat yourself. And I beat myself today,” he said. He also said he wished he could start the ninth over and throw everything down the middle, then added that a base hit with nobody on does not win the game, but a base hit after you walk the bases loaded does. Christian Yelich supplied the finish, lining a 101 mph fastball up the middle for the winner after saying he knew Miller was erratic and expected the fastball eventually.
The loss lands hard because it fits the shape of the series now. Miller had been so reliable for so long that his collapse stands out even more sharply: he did not allow a run until April 27 after stretching his scoreless streak to a franchise-record 34⅔ innings, earned his second All-Star selection and finished tied for the National League lead with 38 saves. But the Padres are not dealing with what he did in the regular season. They are dealing with what Sunday left behind. They must win three straight against a 103-win Brewers club, and the margin for a clean inning is gone.
