Padres' NLDS Failure Against Brewers Is Their Most Disappointing Ouster Yet

Prior to 2026, the San Diego Padres, as a franchise, had never made the postseason in three consecutive seasons. There's something to be said for an accomplishment like that. They've also reached it in five of the past seven seasons. In general, they're one of the premier teams in the National League considering their ability to consistently reach October baseball.

At the same time, that'll hardly provide solace in what feels like the most disappointing elimination to date. 

The Padres were eliminated at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night, going down three games to one in the National League Division Series. Flying high after a dominating Wild Card Round showing against the Chicago Cubs, the tables were immediately flipped on the Padres against the team with the league's best record. But it was painfully close. 

San Diego held a lead in each of the first two games of the series. They went up early in Game 1, only for Robbie Ray to falter almost immediately. They had the edge in the ninth inning of Game 2 before all-world closer Mason Miller, in his second inning of work, proved unable to get the sixth out. This was a series that was lost on the margins, and it's going to sting all the more because of it. And that's to say nothing of the additional context of how this team was moving in the second half of the season. 

After sputtering throughout the first half, a switch was flipped for the Padres down the stretch. Their rotation stabilized into a group capable of regularly giving five-ish innings on a given night (an accomplishment, considering where they sat prior to the All-Star break). Their offense was the best in the sport by a number of measures. Led by a resurgent Fernando Tatis Jr., they jumped out to early leads and came back late to not only work their way back into the Wild Card race by season's end, but secure the top spot in that push. A steady rotation and an elite offense around a relief corps that already served as the class of the league had this team as well-positioned as they've been in years. Sure, the Brewers possessed the best record in baseball, but the teams matched up extraordinarily well. 

The ability to play at home and, subsequently, send the Cubs back home in a most expedient fashion had the vibes all the way up heading into the NLDS. The inability to then hold onto leads sent things firmly back in the other direction. And just when it seemed like there was life again, the offense retreated back into its shell while the pitching was unable to hold things down against the margin-winning kings from Milwaukee.

These Padres weren't the best we've seen over their recent stretch of five playoff teams in seven seasons. But there's a difference between, say, the 2022 NLCS team that was bounced in five games or the 2024 team whose offense went three consecutive games against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS without anything of note to add to the stat sheet and this one. There was serious momentum building into this series against the Brewers, only for the team to die with a whimper.

Best team in baseball or not, the combination of second half offense led by star bats, an elite bullpen, and a stabilized rotation should have led to better fortunes. It almost did. Some of those other teams got closer, but this particular Padres team feels like they left a whole lot on the table. That's going to hurt for a while.

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