Padres-Brewers NL Division Series Game 3 Matchup By The Numbers

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With their season on the line, the San Diego Padres are relying on a pitcher that has certainly been tested this year.

Right-hander Nick Pivetta will get the call to start Tuesday's Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. First pitch is 6:38 p.m. (FS1). The Brewers lead the best-of-five series 2-0. Pivetta has experienced the highs and lows of a season. He was the Opening Day starter for the first time in his career, but he lasted just four games before hitting the injured list, walking off the mound in a start in mid-April. That injury would keep Pivetta out until September, when he returned to make four regular-season seasons.

Pivetta, who did not face the Brewers this season, proved himself worthy in those outings to get the ball for Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series vs. the Chicago Cubs. He gave what the Padres expected, going 3⅓ innings, allowing a run on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts. That set the stage perfectly for the high-leverage arms in the Padres' bullpen to secure a 4-1 victory.

Pivetta will face one Brewers hitter who has a great deal of success. That would be designated hitter Christian Yelich, who has a .389/.455/.833 slash line in 22 plate appearances, including two homers and nine RBIs. Another player with a much smaller sample size against Pivetta to be aware of is right fielder Sal Frelick, who is 2-for-5 with an RBI. Pivetta has held Brewers star left fielder Jackson Chourio hitless in three at-bats, while he has struck out catcher William Contreras six times in 13 at-bats.

Nick Pivetta vs. Milwaukee Brewers: Current Batters Table
Rk	Player	B	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SF	GIDP
1	Christian Yelich	L	22	18	7	2	2	9	3	3	.389	.455	.833	1.288	1	1
2	William Contreras	R	15	13	3	1	0	1	1	6	.231	.267	.308	.574	1	0
3	Brice Turang	L	8	6	1	0	0	1	2	3	.167	.375	.167	.542	0	0
4	Gary Sánchez	R	7	6	3	0	1	3	1	3	.500	.571	1.000	1.571	0	0
5	Jake Bauers	L	5	4	1	0	0	1	1	1	.250	.400	.250	.650	0	0
6	Sal Frelick	L	5	5	2	0	0	1	0	1	.400	.400	.400	.800	0	0
7	Joey Ortiz	R	4	4	1	1	0	2	0	0	.250	.250	.500	.750	0	0
8	Bryse Wilson	R	4	4	1	0	0	0	0	3	.250	.250	.250	.500	0	0
9	Jackson Chourio	R	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0

Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 10/5/2026.

Going for the Brewers in Game 2 is right-hander Dustin May, who has a good history against the Padres, primarily from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

May did face the Padres once this season and was spectacular. Pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals, May threw a one-hit shutout on June 15, with superstar Manny Machado getting a seventh-inning single with two outs to break up the no-hit bid. Machado has faced May the most of any player on the current Padres roster, going 10-for-40 with two homers and five RBIs. Fernando Tatis Jr. is also hitting .250 vs. May (7-for-28, one homer, four RBIs). Ty France has had the best success, going 4-for-12 with a solo homer.

France has also been the best hitter for the Padres this postseason, going 7-for-15 with a double and two RBIs. Machado (13 at-bats), Xander Bogaerts (14 at-bats) and Jackson Merrill (16 at-bats) each have five hits in the four games.

The Brewers acquired May from the Cardinals at the trade deadline for two prospects. He didn't fare well in his 10 starts for the Brewers, putting up a 5.06 FIP (5.65 ERA) over 36⅔ innings. His walk rate was up from where it was with the Cardinals (9.3% from 7.6%), while his strikeout rate was very similar (23.5% with the Brewers, 23.1% with the Cardinals).

Dustin May vs. San Diego Padres: Current Batters Table
Rk	Player	B	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SF	HBP	GIDP
1	Manny Machado	R	42	40	10	2	2	5	2	8	.250	.286	.450	.736	0	0	4
2	Fernando Tatis Jr.	R	31	28	7	1	1	4	3	6	.250	.323	.393	.715	0	0	0
3	Jake Cronenworth	L	25	21	5	0	1	1	3	4	.238	.360	.381	.741	0	1	1
4	Xander Bogaerts	R	17	16	3	1	1	1	1	3	.188	.235	.438	.673	0	0	0
5	Ty France	R	13	12	4	0	1	1	0	3	.333	.385	.583	.968	0	1	1
6	Jackson Merrill	L	12	10	0	0	0	1	1	4	.000	.083	.000	.083	1	0	1
7	Gavin Sheets	L	12	11	1	0	0	0	1	1	.091	.167	.091	.258	0	0	1
8	Freddy Fermin	R	6	6	2	0	0	0	0	2	.333	.333	.333	.667	0	0	0
9	Sung-Mun Song	L	5	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	.200	.000	.200	0	0	0
10	Austin Hays	R	4	4	1	1	0	0	0	1	.250	.250	.500	.750	0	0	1

Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 10/5/2026.

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