\n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter watching closer Mason Miller<\/a> finish off the Detroit Tigers and secure the San Diego Padres’ first win of the season, I saw the following post on social media from Michael Baumann, who writes for FanGraphs:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tI’m coming around to the point of view that it’s just not fair to have Mason Miller. Sucks all the drama out of the game. Why even bother playing the ninth inning?\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Michael Baumann (@baumann.bsky.social<\/a>) March 28, 2026 at 8:14 PM<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHe isn’t wrong. In this outing, Miller threw 18 pitches, 12 of which were strikes. Of those 12 strikes, five were called, one was a swing-and-miss, five were fouled off, and only one was put into play. He had nine four-seam fastballs that ranged between 100.5 mph and 102.5 mph.\n<\/p>\n \n\tBut that isn’t his best pitch. That would be his slider, which rates as one of the best, if not the best, in MLB. He used his slider for his other nine offerings vs. the Tigers. In fact, he started off early-season phenom Kevin McGonigle<\/a> with three sliders, taking the final one for a called strike three. Miller had one hiccup in this appearance, issuing a seven-pitch walk to Spencer Torkelson<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tA typical Mason Miller performance. That has been the case ever since making his MLB debut in 2023 and becoming a full-time closer in 2024. Entering 2026, he had converted 50 of 57 save opportunities, including converting two of three chances after the Friars acquired him from the A’s in the blockbuster deal at the trade deadline last year.\n<\/p>\n \n\tStill, those seven blown saves show that Miller is beatable. How was it done? One way is to get lucky and hit a homer. But that isn’t the only way. Let’s take a look at his last five outings from 2025 in which he gave up a run.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00a0<\/p>\n \tHow Teams Beat Unbeatable Padres Closer Mason Miller<\/p>\n \t\u00a0<\/p>\n \tMay 23 vs. Philadelphia Phillies<\/p>\n \n\tFacing a pretty good Phillies team, 32-18 entering the game, in the not-so-friendly confines of Sutter Health Park, Miller, who hadn’t pitched since May 17, opened the top of the ninth with the A’s down 1-0, facing the 5-6-7 hitters. J.T. Realmuto<\/a> battled Miller for nine pitches before hitting a 101..3 mph four-seamer for a slow chopper that he beat out for a single. But shortstop Jacob Wilson<\/a>‘s throw was also off the mark and went for a two-base error, putting Realmuto at third.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAlec Bohm<\/a> then hit a 101.1 mph four-seamer for a double to center field, scoring Realmuto to make it 2-0. Edmundo Sosa<\/a> grounded a slider to first base, moving Bohm to third with one out. Brandon Marsh<\/a> struck out on five pitches, the last two strikes swinging and missing at sliders. With two outs, Johan Rojas<\/a> flared an 0-1 slider for an opposite-field single, scoring Bohm for a 3-0 Phillies lead. That brought up the top of the Phillies order in Trea Turner<\/a>. Rojas stole second. Miller quickly got out in front of Turner at 0-2 before missing with his put-away slider for ball one. Two more fouls followed before another slider was very inside, putting the count at 2-2. The next pitch was another slider, but middle-in and Turner laced it to center for an RBI single and a 4-0 Phillies lead. Miller was yanked after 27 pitches. The poor outing hurt more as the A’s scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth before falling 4-3.\n<\/p>\n \tMay 24 vs. Philadelphia Phillies<\/p>\n \n\tGetting another shot vs. the Phillies the next day, Miller came on for the ninth, protecting a 4-3 A’s lead. This time, he was facing the 8-9-1 hitters in Marsh, Max Kepler, and Trea Turner. Marsh again struck out on five pitches as he did the day before. Hitting .229 entering the game, Kepler ambushed a first-pitch four-seamer, sending the 101.4 offering deep to right field for his sixth homer of the season and tying the game 4-4. Miller bounced by by striking out Turner on five pitches, but then yielded a first-pitch single to Bryce Harper<\/a> on a changeup. The patient Kyler Schwarber drew a five-pitch walk to put runners on first and second before Miller struck out future Padres teammate Nick Castellanos<\/a> on four pitches to end the threat.\n<\/p>\n \tJune 13 vs. Kansas City Royals<\/p>\n \n\tMiller had been off for four days after making three appearances in four games. This time, it wasn’t a save situation, as the A’s had a comfortable 6-1 lead entering the ninth inning. The bullpen was rested, as the A’s had the previous day off and used only two relievers in their last game. So, this was simply an outing to get work in.\n<\/p>\n \n\tDue up were the 5-6-7 hitters. Salvador Perez<\/a> led off with a six-pitch walk that featured five four-seamers. That brought up rookie slugger Jac Caglianone<\/a>, who isn’t exactly a patient hitter (7.8% walk rate in 2025). Yet he also walked on six pitches, all but one a four-seamer. Little-used Nic Loftin followed by lacing an 0-1 four-seamer for a liner to left-center that skipped past left fielder Tyler Soderstrom<\/a> for a two-run triple, his second three-bagger in as many nights. John Rave<\/a> made it a 6-4 game with a sacrifice fly, before Miller struck out Kyle Isbel<\/a> on four pitches and Drew Waters<\/a> popped out on the first pitch to end the game.\n<\/p>\n \tJune 19 vs. Houston Astros<\/p>\n \n\tLess than a week later and two more appearances under his belt, Miller was called upon to put out a fire with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, clinging to a 4-1 lead. Runners were on first and second when Miller replaced J.T. Ginn<\/a> and No. 8 hitter Victor Caratini<\/a> due up. The switch-hitting Caratini, after going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts against left-handed starter Jacob Lopez<\/a>, was aggressive and launched a first-pitch four-seamer that was down but in the middle of the plate for a game-tying three-run homer. Miller’s four-seamer was down in velocity at 98.4 mph. He then struck out Mauricio Dubon<\/a> on seven pitches to end the eighth. In the top of the ninth, Jeremy Pena<\/a> led off with a single before Miller, relying more on his slider in this appearance, got the next three hitters\u2014Isaac Paredes<\/a>, Jose Altuve<\/a> and Yainer Diaz<\/a>\u2014to pop out. The A’s would win 6-4 in 10 innings.\n<\/p>\n \tAug. 5 vs. Arizona Diamondbacks<\/p>\n \n\tIn the only one of his 22 appearances with the Padres in which Miller allowed a run, he came into the game in the bottom of the eighth inning in his new role as a setup man. The Friars had a 5-3 lead and the top of the Diamondbacks’ order was due up. Corbin Carroll<\/a> lined out to right on the first pitch, then Ketel Marte<\/a> struck out on five pitches, four of which were sliders. Geraldo Perdomo<\/a> saw all four-seamers in a five-pitch walk to bring up Lourdes Guerriel Jr. He took a first-pitch ball and a second-pitch strike before fouling off four straight pitches. On the seventh pitch, the fifth four-seamer of the at-bat, a 103.9 mph offering, Gurriel launched a 439-foot game-tying homer. Miller struck out the next batter and the Padres scored five runs in the top of the 11th to win 10-5.\n<\/p>\n \tConclusion<\/p>\n \n\tIs there a common theme in these outings? There doesn’t seem to be. Two of the three homers Miller gave up were first-pitch four-seamers, both in different locations. Two of these five outings saw him give up runs in the eighth inning, once in a fireman’s role in which he would get four outs and the other in his second game in a Padres uniform as he got used to a new role. If anything, His pitch usage is fairly similar between right-handed batters and left-handed batters. Against righties in 2025, he used his four-seamer 51% of the time and his slider 48% with an occasional changeup. Against lefties, his four-seamer use was 53%, his slider at 42%, and his changeup up to 5%.\n<\/p>\n \n\tMiller’s four-seamer lights up the radar guns, but doesn’t move much differently from other four-seamers. But his slider has significantly more break (4.2 inches) and drop (3.3 inches). Perhaps relying more on the slider would erase the few negative outings that Miller does turn in each season, but weird things are bound to happen in frequent one-inning samples. Frankly, it’s amazing that Miller is so adverse to blowup outings, which tend to sink most other reliever’s stats.\n<\/p>\n \n\tMiller is as good as any other closer in MLB, perhaps the best. In a long line of elite door slammers, he may emerge as one of the Padres’ all-time greats.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n