One Catch, Three Octobers and the Same Old Story for the Padres

For the third postseason in a row, San Diego’s offense went missing as their season ended with Wednesday’s NLDS Game 4 loss to the Brewers.

Manny Machado was robbed of a game-tying homer in the eighth inning. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

SAN DIEGO — The third-largest crowd in Petco Park history rose as one and watched in wonder. The ball rocketed off Manny Machado’s bat at 106.7 mph and sailed toward center field, where a sea of San Diegans jockeyed for position beyond the wall, hoping to catch it. For a moment, it looked destined to be a game-tying home run that would send an already loud stadium into delirium. Then, just as the anticipation reached a fever pitch, Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell jumped and caught it at the top of the wall.

It was only the eighth inning, but that was the last gasp of the 2026 San Diego Padres. It felt all too familiar. 

GARRETT MITCHELL TAKES AWAY A GAME-TYING HOME RUN 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UVjEXP3VA7

— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2026

The Padres, who featured the best offense in baseball down the stretch, saw it abandon them at the worst possible time for the third postseason in a row. They finished Game 4 with one run on three hits and lost 3–1, the same score as their season-ending loss to the Cubs in the 2025 wild-card round.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a mammoth home run to tie the game 1–1 in the bottom of the third inning. It was San Diego’s final hit of the game. 

FERNANDO TATIS JR. GOES DEEP! pic.twitter.com/va2WinTwf9

— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2026

The Padres had plenty of chances to take control of the series against Milwaukee. But when opportunities presented themselves, San Diego failed to capitalize. They had some luck go against them, like Machado’s blast that carried an expected batting average of .960, but ultimately, San Diego’s inability to deliver in key moments proved costly. 

During their losses in Games 1 and 2, the Padres combined to go 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position. They lost both games by a single run. In Game 4, they were 0-for-2 and left the bases loaded in the first inning. For the series, they mustered just four hits in 23 at-bats with runners in scoring position. 

“We had opportunities there. We didn't come up with the clutch hit,” Machado said.

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller emphasized just how tight the margins were between the two teams.

“From pitch one to the last pitch, it was a well-contested, super intense series,” Preller said. “Could have gone either way.”

He specifically pointed to Machado’s near-home run as one of those moments that could have changed the outcome. 

“I thought Manny’s ball was going out tonight,” he said.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a home run in the third inning of Game 4. It was San Diego’s final hit of the season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This was hardly the first time San Diego’s bats had gone silent with its season on the line.

In 2024, the Padres entered Game 4 of the NLDS with a 2–1 lead over the rival Dodgers before their offense went into hibernation. They proceeded to lose the next two games by a combined score of 10–0 and finished the season on a streak of 24 consecutive scoreless innings. Across those final two games, they had no runs on nine hits with a .145 batting average. 

In 2025, they fell to the Cubs after three tight games at Wrigley Field. They scored five total runs in the series, hitting .189 with a .548 OPS and 20 strikeouts. San Diego was only able to scratch across one run in each of its losses. In that series, they were 3-for-26 with runners in scoring position. 

“There's no excuse out there, but we were facing the best pitching in the big leagues, and it was a battle,” Tatis said. “It was a grind.”

Asked about his team’s recurring offensive failures in the playoffs, Padres manager Craig Stammen pushed back on the idea that the past three years were connected. 

“I wouldn't jumble them all together. I think, when you get to the playoffs, you're going to face the best pitching staffs in the entire league,” he said. 

Stammen believed his team had plenty of good at-bats in the series, but they weren’t able to push runs across. In a tight postseason series, that’s the difference between advancing and heading home. 

The Padres went 0-for-21 at the plate to end the season.

That's the longest hitless drought by a National League team to end a postseason all-time.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 8, 2026

The Padres have to find a way to get over the hump offensively in October. For three consecutive postseasons, they’ve left runs on the table and watched their championship aspirations slip away. If the franchise is going to bring its first World Series championship to San Diego, it will have to solve the problem that keeps cutting its seasons short. 

Stammen summed up the problem: “We've got to find a way to leave no doubt in these series,” he said. 

Instead, we’re left with another offseason of “what if?” in San Diego.

---