Padres on deck: Seeking clinch vs. MLB-best Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres

• Game 1: 6:40 p.m. Monday (Padres.TV)
• Game 2: 6:40 p.m. Tuesday (Padres.TV)
• Game 3: 1:10 p.m. Wednesday (Padres.TV)

In the standings

Milwaukee (95-61, 1st in NL Central)

The Brewers have locked up the division but are chasing home-field advantage throughout the postseason, as they have the majors’ best record and a three-game lead on the Phillies in the NL. The Padres won two of three in Milwaukee in early June.

San Diego (85-71, 2nd in NL West)

The Padres split a six-game road trip through New York and Chicago and trail the Dodgers by three games in the division with six games left in the season. Their magic number to clinch a postseason berth, based on several tiebreakers, is 1, meaning they are a win away from celebrating a second straight postseason berth as soon as Monday. As far as their positioning, they trail the Cubs by three games in the race for the NL’s No. 1 wild-card spot and have a five-game cushion on the Reds and Mets, who are tied for the last spot entering the week.

Trending

Milwaukee: The Brewers are 10th in OPS (.742), second in rotation ERA (3.54) and 10th in bullpen ERA (3.73). OF Sal Frelick has two homers and a 1.168 OPS over the last week despite playing in just four games. OF Chrisian Yelich has one homer, four RBIs and an .855 OPS over the last week, while OF Jackson Chourio has a .429 OPS over his last six games.

San Diego: The Padres are 18th in OPS (.709), 17th in rotation ERA (4.14) and first in bullpen ERA (3.08). OF Jackson Merrill had two homers and a 1.026 OPS on the road trip. The only other regular with an OPS over .660 was OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.810 OPS), who had one home run. 3B Manny Machado led the team with five RBIs, but four scored on a grand slam as he still amassed just a .577 OPS. OF Gavin Sheets had three RBIs and a .400 OPS.

Pitching matchups

Monday

Brewers RHP Freddy Peralta (17-6, 2.65 ERA)   |   An All-Star this year for the second time, his 17 wins are a career high and the most in the NL. He is five strikeouts shy of a third straight 200-strikeout season, while his ERA is nearly a run below his career ERA (3.58). Peralta has allowed on run or less in seven of his last eight starts (1.43 ERA). He threw six shutout innings at the Padres at Petco Park in early June in a no-decision and has a 2.86 ERA in 22 career innings against the Padres (6 games, 3 starts).

Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (13-5, 2.81 ERA)   |   He failed to complete five innings in his last start for the first time in 15 starts (2.05 ERA), although he’d allowed just three solo homers in 4⅔ innings when the Padres turned to the bullpen to finish off a win in New York. Pivetta has a 9.95 ERA in four starts against the Brewers (19 IP), the last in 2024 (3⅓ IP, 5 ER).

Tuesday

Brewers TBA   |   Manager Pat Murphy has not announced who will start Tuesday as the pitching staff is dealing with a number of injuries.

Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (5-7, 3.94 ERA)   |   He turned in back-to-back quality starts against the Rockies but was pulled in the third inning in last week’s start in New York and wound up being charged with four runs when LHP Wandy Peralta immediately gave up a three-run homer after replacing him. Vásquez has a 22-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 22 innings since the start of August. Vásquez walked four over 4⅔ shutout innings in a start against the Brewers this year and threw five shutout innings in last year’s start against Milwaukee.

Wednesday

Brewers RHP Quinn Priester (13-2, 3.25 ERA)   |   He has allowed two runs or less in six straight starts (2.41 ERA), all victories for the Brewers. Priester has a 33-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio over that stretch (33⅔ IP). His only start against the Padres was in 2023, when he allowed four runs in 5⅓ innings in a win.

Padres TBA   |   This is RHP Dylan Cease’s spot in the rotation, but the Padres appear to be considering their post-clinch plans. Cease’s 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings lead all MLB qualifiers despite Cease (8-12, 4.64 ERA) carrying his worst ERA since making 14 starts as a rookie in 2019 (5.79 ERA). He allowed four runs in six innings in a loss on Friday in Chicago but has a 3.43 ERA in four September starts. Cease has a 3.57 ERA in three career starts against the Brewers, which included two in 2024 with the Padres (10⅔ IP, 5 ER, 7 BBs, 17 Ks).

Team leaders

• OPS: Brewers—DH Christian Yelich (.804), 2B Brice Turang (.790), OF Jackson Chourio (.783); Padres—OF Ramón Laureano (.858), OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.805), 3B Manny Machado (.793).
• HRs: Brewers—Yelich (29), Chourio (20), Turang (18); Padres—Machado (26), Laureano (24), Tatis (23).
• RBIs: Brewers—Yelich (100), Chourio (77), Turang (77); Padres—Machado (93), Laureano (76), DH Gavin Sheets (69).
• Steals: Brewers—Turang (24), OF Sal Frelick (19), Chourio (18); Padres—Tatis (32), SS  Xander Bogaerts (20), Machado (14).
• Saves: Brewers—RHP Trevor Megill (30-for-36, 2.54 ERA), RHP Abner Uribe (5-for-7, 1.74 ERA); Padres—RHP Robert Suarez (40-for-45, 3.06 ERA), RHP Mason Miller (21-for-25, 2.73 ERA).
• Holds: Brewers—Uribe (37), LHP Jared Koeng (25, 3.00 ERA), RHP Nick Mears (16, 3.52 ERA); Padres—RHP Jeremiah Estrada (30, 3.47 ERA), RHP Jason Adam (29, 1.93 ERA), LHP Adrián Morejón (20, 2.04 ERA).

Training room

Milwaukee: RHP Brandon Woodruff hit the injured list over the weekend with a right lat strain. The pitching staff is also without closer Trevor Megill (flexor strain), LHPs Jose Quintana (calf), LHP Connor Thomas (elbow) and DL Hall (oblique) and RHP Logan Henderson (flexor), RHP J.B. Bukauskas (lat) and Shelby Miller (UCL). OF Garrett Mitchell (oblique, shoulder) is done for the year.

San Diego: SS Xander Bogaerts has been ramping up from the fracture in his left foot in Arizona and could rejoin the Padres on Monday. LHP Nestor Cortes (biceps) has also been throwing in Arizona and could see innings after the Padres secure their spot in next week’s wild-card round. RHP David Morgan (shoulder) could return from the injured list this week, while RHP Joe Musgrove (Tommy John) is continuing to throw bullpens in hopes of being available at some point in the postseason.