Mason Miller, Padres Manager Address Pitch-Tipping Allegations, Closer's Status Moving Forward

Was Mason Miller tipping his pitches?

That's become the overarching storyline of the San Diego Padres vs. Milwaukee Brewers National League Division Series after Game 2.

Pictures and videos of Miller's ninth inning in Game 2 have made their waves on social media, depicting what people believe to be the All-Star closer tipping his pitches.

The Brewers drew three walks in the ninth inning before Jackson Chourio hit a walk-off two-run single.

Mason Miller was absolutely tipping his breaking ball in the Padres' NLDS Game 2 loss to Milwaukee: pic.twitter.com/P20JyKhmWT
— Sillyam Contreras Enjoyer (@Turang_FC) October 5, 2026

“I don’t really know what to make of it,” Miller said to MLB.com. “I feel like there was only one pitch that it would have had an impact. If you’re tipping your pitches and it’s a ball — I just don’t think it had anything to do with the walks. I also have a hard time believing I just magically started doing it.”

After retiring the Brewers 1-2-3 on 12 pitches in the eighth inning, Miller returned for the ninth and lost his command.

It resulted in a blown save to put the Padres down 0-2 in the best-of-five series.

Padres manager Craig Stammen wasn't interested in the discourse, though.

"We've got a crew of people that are dedicated to that every single day. That is their sole job," Stammen said when asked if Miller was tipping his pitches. "We're well aware of what's going on with our pitchers, well aware of what's going on with the Brewers pitchers and how they do things. It's part of our daily acumen.

"The Internet can go crazy and take things farther than they need to go. We feel good about our process within that situation."

Fans are speculating that Mason Miller was tipping his pitches in his blown save against the Brewers

Sal Frelick tapped his neck right before Jackson Chourio laid off a slider that would have resulted in a strikeout and a Padres win pic.twitter.com/bvXJXbOfpt
— Punchoutpitch (@Punchoutpitch) October 5, 2026

However, Stammen didn't respond with a "no", prompting additional follow-ups.

"Like I said, we've got a lot of guys on top of it, and we're not really worried about it," Stammen said.

"Any time someone like Mason, who's been as dominant as he has, ends up being not dominant in one outing, everyone is going to find any way to try to figure out why," the manager added. "We look at all that stuff as a coaching staff and as an organization to try to figure out why also and support him in that. I think we're ready to help him have a great outing the next time."

Padres Could Change Mason Miller's Workload Moving Forward

Stammen believes the second inning of work could have contributed to Miller's struggles in the ninth inning.

"I think we've seen some of that [loss of command] from Mason, and it mostly happens in the appearances where he goes more than one inning," Stammen said. "I think that's definitely something strategy-wise that we were very comfortable with going into the game but something going forward that we may have to adjust as the playoffs go."

So, could the Padres use the All-Star closer on a more limited basis moving forward?

"Possible," Stammen said. "Up for discussion amongst the coaching staff."

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