Padres avoid elimination vs. Brewers, force Game 4 of NLDS - ESPN

SAN DIEGO — When right-hander Michael King dramatically emerged from the bullpen in a darkened Petco Park to pitch in the eighth inning of Game 3 just two days after he made a five-inning start in Game 2, the San Diego Padres' desperate determination to extend their season was clear.

The relentless Milwaukee Brewers are making that job awfully difficult — but after three scintillating, one-run playoff games packed with pressure moments, extraordinary plays and saviors in this NL Division Series, the Padres are still fighting for at least another day.

Jake Cronenworth hit a tiebreaking homer, King pitched the final two innings on a day's rest, and the Padres avoided playoff elimination with a 4-3 victory Tuesday night, trimming Milwaukee's lead in the best-of-five series to 2-1.

«It feels like we've played three straight games against the Brewers like that,» San Diego manager Craig Stammen said. «We finally were able to come out on the right end of things in this one. A lot of big effort from a lot of guys during the game to get us to the final score.»

Xander Bogaerts scored San Diego's fourth run on a hustle play in the sixth and then capped his team's stellar defensive performance with a game-ending double play at shortstop for the Padres, who hung on in a nail-biter over the MLB-best Brewers. This is the first playoff series since the 2021 National League Championship Series to begin with three straight one-run decisions.

«Can't do much about the first two games, but all three games have been really good baseball,» Bogaerts said. «Once tomorrow comes, let's go for it, but right now let's enjoy this one, because this was a really good one.»

Game 4 is Wednesday night at Petco Park. If necessary, Game 5 will be back in