San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen was talking about the response of pitcher Casey Mize to allowing a two-run homer Monday night to Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich.
“It’s not always what happens to you,” Stammen said. “It’s what happens to you after that.”
Stammen also could have been talking about how his team performed for the remainder of that game. The Padres didn’t allow a run the rest of the night and rallied for a 3-2 victory, giving them a chance at a series win Tuesday night in San Diego.
With the best record in the majors, Milwaukee already appears ready for October baseball.
The Padres, meanwhile, are shooting for their fifth postseason trip in seven years. Monday night’s game had a playoff feel, featuring good pitching, tight defense and not much scoring.
It turned on yet another swing of Jackson Merrill’s bat. San Diego’s center fielder homered for the ninth time since the All-Star break, drilling a 431-foot shot to center with Ty France aboard in the seventh inning to erase a 2-1 deficit.
“I’m being aggressive and waiting for a pitch to drive,” Merrill said. “I knew the situation and I was looking to do some damage. This feels like competitive baseball every day.”
With its 13th win in 17 games, San Diego stayed a game behind Arizona and Philadelphia for the National League’s final two wild-card spots. The Padres also continued their recent long-ball surge; Merrill’s blast was their eighth in the last four games.
The Padres will start right-hander Walker Buehler (6-5, 5.07 ERA) on Tuesday.
Buehler received a no-decision Thursday in his team’s 5-1 win at Arizona, allowing one run on six hits in four innings. He is 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA in three career starts against Milwaukee.
Left-hander Kyle Harrison (9-2, 2.84 ERA) will start on Tuesday for the Brewers.
Harrison is coming off an overpowering outing Wednesday in a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh, striking out eight hitters in a row at one stage and permitting only one hit in five shutout innings before departing because of cramps.
“Everything felt great,” Harrison said of his pitches. “I started out early pounding the zone and felt really good toward those end innings, minus the cramps. It was frustrating that it had to end like that.”
Harrison, who struck out 10 before leaving, is 2-1 with a 5.57 ERA in four career starts against San Diego. One thing he will have in his favor that Monday starter Logan Henderson didn’t is a rested bullpen.
Milwaukee rode its high-leverage relievers hard in winning two of three against Minnesota over the weekend. That, and an efficient performance, was why Henderson was pitching in the seventh inning for the first time in the majors.
A good sign for the Brewers might have been Yelich’s two-run homer in the second inning for their only runs. Yelich was hitting .183 in his previous 32 games but found the left-field seats with another slumping teammate, William Contreras, aboard after a walk.
“I trust them,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Contreras and Yelich, who batted sixth and seventh, respectively, in the lineup Monday night. “I just do.”
–Field Level Media
