Another October heartbreak: Padres championship dreams die as Brewers set up Dodgers showdown

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres spent the final two months of the regular season playing like a team of destiny.On Wednesday night, destiny delivered another cruel reminder that October doesn’t care what you did in August and September.The Milwaukee Brewers silenced Petco Park, suffocated San Diego’s offense and eliminated the Padres with a 3-1 victory in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, advancing to the NLCS for the second consecutive season.For the Padres, it was another October obituary written far too early.

For Milwaukee, the celebration was merely an appetizer.The main course awaits in their rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers.The Brewers, owners of baseball’s best regular-season record, will now face the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers in the sequel to last year’s NLCS.But before Milwaukee could book its return trip to the championship series, it had to extinguish one final flicker of hope in San Diego.That hope arrived in the third inning, courtesy of Fernando Tatis Jr.With the Padres trailing 1-0, Tatis launched a solo home run off Brewers starter Robert Gasser, sending the Petco Park faithful into a frenzy.

The Dominican superstar punctuated the blast with a towering bat flip, as if he could launch San Diego’s postseason fortunes into orbit along with the baseball.For one fleeting moment, the Padres looked alive again as the sold out crowd of 47,712 at Petco Park erupted.Unfortunately, that would be the last time they would celebrate as the offense went mostly silent over the next six innings. Walker Buehler, making his first postseason appearance since closing out the 2024 World Series for the Dodgers, opened with a six-pitch first inning.But Milwaukee struck first when Sal Frelick singled, stole second and scored on Garrett Mitchell’s RBI single.It was the first time the Brewers had scored first in the series, and an ominous sign for a Padres team already fighting for its postseason life.Buehler lasted i...