PADRES COME UP WITH CLUTCH EFFORTS, BEAT BREWERS TO FORCE GAME 4
Jake Cronenworth hit a tie-breaking homer in the fifth inning and Michael King registered a six-out save as the San Diego Padres staved off elimination with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
Cronenworth led off the bottom of the fifth by jumping on a first-pitch sweeper by JoJo Romero (0-1) and sending it over the wall to give the Padres a 3-2 advantage.
After Padres star closer Mason Miller went on the paternity list prior to the game, King was called on to protect a 4-3 lead two days after throwing 72 pitches as the Game 2 starter. The right-hander gave up one hit and walked two to record the save.
“I made myself available on Sunday, confirmed it with (manager Craig) Stammen today,” King said after the win. “I knew that there was a chance it was going to be late in the game because of Mason’s wife, but six outs to end the game is six outs to end the game. I wasn’t as crisp as I’d like to be, but I’m very happy for a Game 4.”
William Contreras went 3-for-4 with a walk and a homer and Christian Yelich snapped his 19-game postseason streak without an RBI for the Brewers. Yelich and Cooper Pratt each had two hits.
Game 4 of the best-of-five series is Wednesday night in San Diego.
“We used a lot of energy today, and we’ve got to bring that same energy tomorrow also. It’s going to be another fight just like the first three games, and I don’t think I expect anything different,” Stammen said. “The resilience we showed today, the stick-to-itativeness, the keep bouncing back, all the adjectives you can use for that, this team showed it all year, and they showed it especially again tonight. We’re going to have to do it again tomorrow.”
Contreras and Brice Turang walked against King with one out in the ninth before Yelich hit a bullet that short-hopped into the glove of Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who touched second and threw to first for the game-ending double play.
“We didn’t get the big hit at the big time, but do you fault Yelly for hitting one 107 there and Bogaerts making a great play? They got a great team, and they played great defense tonight. They really did,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
The Brewers lost their 12th consecutive road playoff game.
“I really enjoy them. I enjoy the road losses. They feel good. Does it wear on me?” Murphy quipped. “That’s a great point to bring up. It’s tough to win on the road in playoff situations obviously. We’ve done a pretty good job at home, I’d say, but you’re right. It’s never fun.”
Left-hander Yuki Matsui (1-0) was credited with the win after retiring three batters over the fifth and sixth innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, Bogaerts singled with two outs against right-hander Antonio Senzatela. Left-hander DL Hall entered and threw a wild pitch to move Bogaerts to second.
Pinch hitter Miguel Andujar hit a broken-bat bouncer to shortstop that went between the legs of a leaping Bogaerts. Shortstop Pratt seemed slightly distracted and his ensuing throw to first bounced in front of Jake Bauers and caromed away a few feet as Bogaerts came around to score.
In the seventh, Contreras stroked a two-out single off Bradgley Rodriguez and Turang followed with a single. Yelich then delivered an RBI single to bring the Brewers within 4-3, his first RBI since Game 7 of the 2018 NL Championship against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Garrett Mitchell then struck out to end the inning.
San Diego scored twice in the third against Brewers starter Dustin May, who allowed two runs, three hits, two walks and struck out three in three-plus innings.
Samad Taylor stroked a leadoff single, stole second and was sacrificed to third by Cronenworth. Taylor scored when Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a tapper to shortstop and was thrown out at first.
Jackson Merrill followed with a single and stole second before Manny Machado delivered a run-scoring single to give the Padres a 2-0 lead.
The Brewers got on the board in the fourth when Contreras smacked a leadoff homer to left off Nick Pivetta. It was Contreras’ second homer of the series.
Milwaukee started the fifth with back-to-back singles by Pratt and Sal Frelick. Joey Ortiz then laid down a bunt to move the runners up.
Jason Adam replaced Pivetta and induced Jackson Chourio to hit a fly ball to shallow left. Pratt beat Dustin Harris’ throw to knot the score at 2.
Pivetta gave up two runs and five hits over 4 1/3 innings. The right-hander struck out four and walked none.
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YOSHINOBU YAMAMOTO, DODGERS TAKE NLDS LEAD OVER BRAVES
ATLANTA — Enrique Hernandez and Freddie Freeman each homered in the fourth inning and Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered seven strong innings to hand the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-1 win and a 2-1 series lead over the Atlanta Braves in their National League Division Series Tuesday night.
Yamamoto (1-0), making his first postseason start since he was named the 2025 World Series MVP, allowed just one run on four hits, walking one while striking out a postseason-career-high 10 batters.
Tanner Scott followed with a scoreless eighth, and Edwin Diaz worked around a leadoff double from Ozzie Albies in the ninth to toss a scoreless ninth and secure the save.
The Dodgers, looking to become the first National League team to win three straight World Series, can advance to the NL Championship Series with a win Wednesday night in the best-of-five series.
“I was able to get into the game with a great feel,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “And then I was feeling confident and able to control all my pitches today.”
After the Dodgers wasted prime scoring chances in two of the first three innings, Hernandez followed Andy Pages’ leadoff single with a 406-foot homer to left off Chris Sale, the 17th of his postseason career, to make it 2-0.
“He’s a big-time player,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts about Hernandez, who was making his first start of the 2026 postseason. “I said earlier, we needed a little bit of that (Enrique) dust. And he’s always prepared. And he loves moments like this. He has a way to lock in.”
One out later, Freeman added a solo homer in his first postseason game back in Atlanta, where he played his first 12 seasons and ended his tenure with the 2021 World Series championship. The 18th home run of his postseason career moved Freeman into a tie for 10th in major league history.
Sale (0-1) grinded through five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts.
The left-hander navigated early traffic, stranding two runners in the first and leaving the bases loaded in the third, when left fielder Mauricio Dubon also robbed a would-be two-run homer from Freeman, before Los Angeles jumped in front in the fourth.
“The Dodgers did a good job of really grinding at-bats and running up his pitch count,” said Braves manager Walt Weiss regarding Sales’ outing. “And they typically do that. They’re one of the lower swing rates in the league. They force you into the zone. And probably the command wasn’t perfect, but the stuff was really good still with Chris.”
The Braves had a chance to fight back in the fifth when they loaded the bases with one out and the top of the order up. However, Yamamoto limited Atlanta to one run on Drake Baldwin’s groundout to first, ending the inning by inducing Ronald Acuna Jr. to ground out to second.
Four Atlanta relievers tossed a scoreless inning apiece to keep the game in range for the offense, which managed just five hits and two walks. The Braves struck out 12 times and finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
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