One Dodgers Hitter Believes He Knows How to Beat Padres' Mason Miller

San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller's performance since being traded to the National League West has been incredible, so much so that it's inserted him into the Cy Young conversation in 2026.

Miller hadn't been charged with a loss since May 17, 2025, when he was still a member of the Athletics. One year and two days later, the Los Angeles Dodgers ended his impressive streak.

Mason Miller's last loss was May 17, 2025. He was still a member of the Athletics.

One year and two days later, the Dodgers find a way to get a run against Miller and steal a win from the Padres.

The Dodgers are back atop the NL West ahead of Wednesday's series finale. pic.twitter.com/l7hpLXqbGU
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) May 20, 2026

Tuesday's game was tied heading into the ninth inning as the Padres deployed Miller out of the bullpen to stave off the middle of the Dodgers lineup.

The Dodgers started to put something together when Max Muncy challenged a strike three call and was successful, drawing a walk. That moment gave the Dodgers some momentum against Miller with manager Dave Roberts inserting Alex Call as a pinch-runner for Muncy at first.

Then, Andy Pages came up to at-bat.

Pages battled Miller in a nine-pitch at-bat that ended in a sacrifice fly to right field. Call was able to score from third as Miller committed the first error of his career after he threw the ball away on what should've been a pickoff at first earlier in the at-bat.

Dodgers are back in the lead thanks to a sacrifice fly from Andy Pages and some solid base running from Alex Call.

LA up by one in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/ChwxpvWtN7
— Valentina Sandoval (@ValentinaMrtnz_) May 20, 2026

“Doing that against a pitcher of that caliber is obviously very good, and I felt very confident facing him,” Pages said in Spanish after the game.

Pages, who is having an All-Star-caliber season with the Dodgers, wasn't intimidated by Miller in the biggest of moments.

“He’s a good pitcher, but to me, he’s simply a pitcher who throws hard," Pages said, "And if you’re able to get on time against him, you can do damage against him.”

Miller threw heat to Pages, with three of his pitches clocking in at over 101 mph. In Monday's series opener, Miller had walked two straight batters to open the ninth, but proceeded to retire the next three Dodgers hitters.

Pages, however, seemed to forget the Padres' 1-0 win on Monday and found some confidence throughout the gritty at-bat Tuesday night.

“In my mind, I never thought he was gonna strike me out or dominate me," Pages said. "I was 100 percent certain I was gonna move the ball forward.”

Pages' confidence came in the middle of his at-bat when Miller threw a 102 mph four-seam fastball on a 1-2 count. The Dodgers outfielder managed to foul off the heater thrown at the top of the zone.

“I was on time and I’m sure he noticed that,” Pages said. “There were some pitches he threw 102 and I fouled them off, and I saw them well. In that moment, that’s when I had the confidence to tell myself that he didn’t have a chance.”

The early battle for the NL West comes down to Wednesday's series finale where the Padres and Dodgers will square off for the series win and first place in the division.

Miller remains the best closer in baseball, but the Dodgers seem to have poked a few holes in his game this week. While Miller is almost certainly going to be down on Wednesday after pitching in the series' first two games, this will be something to watch when the teams meet 10 more times this regular season — and potentially again in the playoffs.

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