The Padres have not lost a series since dropping consecutive sets to the Pirates, Rays and Reds as the calendar flipped from August to September.
They’ve penned baseball’s best record — 41-18 — since July 24. That run included a sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in August at Petco Park and this week’s NL Wild Card Series sweep of the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park.
Up next: A best-of-five National League Division Series against the Brewers, starting Saturday in Milwaukee.
“I always say, go into the playoffs on a high note,” shortstop Xander Bogaerts said amid the Padres’ champagne-and-beer-soaked celebration at Petco Park. “I believe it carries, has potential, and I mean, (we’re) seeing what it’s doing now. We had a really good season, of course, but especially towards the end, we started kicking into different gears after the Braves. Jackson (Merrill) and (Fernando Tatis Jr.) pretty much carried us the whole way. You know, Manny (Machado) also got hot for a long time, but I am a big believer in that momentum. I am.”
Here’s a look at how the Padres and Brewers match up:
No. 4 Padres vs. No. 1 Brewers
Schedule
(Best-of-five, all games on Fox / FS1, 97.3 The Fan, XEMO 860 (Spanish); all times Pacific)
Game 1: Padres TBA at Brewers RHP Jacob Misiorowski (16-5, 1.80 ERA), 5:30 p.m. Saturday
Game 2: Padres TBA at Brewers RHP Logan Henderson (11-3, 2.47 ERA), 1 p.m. Sunday
Game 3: Brewers TBA at Padres TBA, time TBD Tuesday
Game 4 (if necessary): Brewers TBA at Padres TBA, time TBD Wednesday
Game 5 (if necessary): Padres TBA at Brewers TBA, time TBD on Oct. 8
What to know
Records: Padres 90-71 (2nd in NL West), Brewers 103-59 (1st in NL Central)
Head-to-head: The Padres won four of six games during the regular season, clinching the season series with a three-game sweep at Petco Park in mid-August. The Padres outscored the Brewers 26-21 in the six-game set.
Recent postseason history: The Padres haven’t played in a division series since losing in five games to the Dodgers in 2024. They lost in three games in last year’s NL Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field before avenging that exit with a two-game sweep this week at Petco Park. The Brewers are in the postseason for the eighth time in nine years and looking to take the next step after losing last year’s NLCS to the Dodgers. Milwaukee’s lone World Series appearance came in 1982, when they played in the American League. This is the first postseason matchup between the Padres and Brewers.
Going to WAR (FanGraphs.com): Padres — OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (5.5), OF Jackson Merrill (4.0), RHP Mason Miller (3.8), 1B Ty France (3.5), LHP Adrián Morejón (2.8), RHP Michael King (2.6), SS Xander Bogaerts (2.5), 3B Manny Machado (2.3); Brewers — RHP Jacob Misiorowski (6.6), 2B Brice Turang (5.9), OF Jackson Chourio (4.6), 1B Jake Bauers (3.6), OF Garrett Mitchell (3.1), C William Contreras (3.0), 3B Joey Ortiz (2.9), RHP Trevor Megill (2.5), RHP Logan Henderson (2.4).
Health check: 3B Joey Ortiz (knee, oblique, groin) and 1B Andrew Vaughn (illness) are expected back for the Division Series. RHP Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) has not ruled out of a return, while RHP Quinn Priester (thoracic outlet syndrome) and LHPs Angel Zerpa (forearm) and Brian Fitzpatrick (UCL) are done for the year. Padres RHP Casey Mize (ankle) won’t be an option again until the NLCS. RHP Jeremiah Estrada (shoulder), OF Ramón Laureano (hip surgery) and RHP Lucas Giolito (elbow) are rehabbing in Arizona. INF Luis Rengifo had season-ending knee surgery this month.
Where they rank
AVG: Padres .244 (17th); Brewers .258 (1st)
OBP: Padres .319 (12th), Brewers .341 (1st)
SLG: Padres .398 (20th), Brewers .403 (11th)
HRs: Padres 182 (14th), Brewers 154 (T-28th)
Steals: Padres 163 (3rd), Brewers 162 (5th)
Rotation ERA: Padres 4.45 (21st), Brewers 3.61 (5th)
Bullpen ERA: Padres 3.50 (5th), Brewers 3.40 (3rd)
Strikeout-to-walk ratio: Padres 2.37 (17th), Brewers 2.98 (6th)
Defensive runs saved: Padres 32 (12th), Brewers 62 (T-4th)
Jackson Chourio #11 of the Milwaukee Brewers steals second base against Jake Cronenworth #9 of the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Petco Park on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Clubhouse leaders
OPS: Padres — OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.828), OF Jackson Merrill (.743), 3B Manny Machado (.710); Brewers — 1B Jake Bauers (.873), OF Jackson Chourio (.838), 2B Brice Turang (.816).
HRs: Padres — Machado (30), Merrill (26), Tatis (25), 1B Ty France (21); Brewers — Bauers (26), Chourio (25), Turan (21), C William Contreras (18).
RBIs: Padres — Machado (90), Merrill (87), Tatis (83); Brewers — Turang (100), Contreras (94), Bauers (86).
Stolen bases: Padres — Tatis (38), Merrill (27), SS Xander Bogaerts (22); Brewers — INF David Hamilton (30), Chourio (23), Turang (19), SS Cooper Pratt (19).
Saves: Padres — RHP Mason Miller (38-for-41, 1.67 ERA); Brewers —RHP Trevor Megill (30-for-33, 2.63 ERA).
Holds: Padres — LHP Adrián Morejón (28, 2.83 ERA), RHP Jason Adam (18, 2.62 ERA), RHP Bradgley Rodriguez (17, 2.19 ERA); Brewers — RHP Abner Uribe (23, 0.87 ERA), LHP Aaron Ashby (15, 2.41 ERA), RHP Chad Patrick (11, 3.03 ERA), RHP Antonio Senzatela (11, 4.05 ERA).
Things to watch
The Padres lead the majors with a .770 OPS against stuff+ pitchers since the trade deadline. The Brewers employ one of the most overwhelming pitchers in the majors in NL Cy Young favorite Jacob Misoriowski (252 strikeouts, 174⅔ IP). The 24-year-old has twice as many 103 mph or harder pitches (143) as Padres closer Mason Miller (70) since Misiorowski’s debut in 2025. Misiorowski faced the Padres for the first time in May, striking out 10 over seven shutout innings in a no-decision.
RHP Abner Uribe (6-3, 1.97 ERA, 6 saves) was dealing with forearm discomfort and went on the injured list after not appearing in any of the Brewers’ three losses in San Diego in August. That included two one-run losses. Uribe has 152 strikeouts over 134⅔ innings over the last two years (1.80 ERA). But he has a 5.19 ERA in 8⅔ career innings against the Padres, including giving up three runs in two innings in May.
Christian Yelich, 34, was named the first captain in Brewers history before the start of the postseason. Trouble with his back and groin limited Yelich to 118 games (12 HRs, .235/.315/.378), but Yelich remains the face of the most successful era of Brewers baseball eight years after winning the 2018 NL MVP award (36 HRs, 22 steals, 110 RBIs, 1.000 OPS).
Cross-town connections
The Padres gave Pat Murphy, the Brewers’ reigning back-to-back NL Manager of the Year, his first big-league experience as the interim skipper after Bud Black was fired in 2015. The team also signed his son, Kai, as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and pushed him to Triple-A El Paso this year. Offense and strategy coordinator Jason Lane pitched three games for the Padres in 2014 after beginning his career as an outfielder. The Padres traded LHP Robert Gasser (2022) and OF Brandonn Lockridge (2025) to the Brewers, while closer Trevor Megill was a seventh-round pick of the Padres who was plucked out of the system by the Cubs in the Rule 5 draft in 2019. 1B Jake Bauers was drafted by the Padres in 2013 and traded away in the Wil Myers deal before eventually landing in Milwaukee. C Gary Sanchez hit 19 homers for the Padres in 2023. LHP Jared Koenig spent some time in the Padres system after signing as a minor league free agent before catching on with the Brewers after the 2023 season. LHP Aaron Ashby is former Padres pitcher Andy Ashby’s nephew.