Padres Bullpen Availability for NLDS Game 4: Adrian Morejon, Michael King, Mason Miller and More

The San Diego Padres need to beat the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday to keep their season alive.

The Padres already staved off elimination once, taking down the Brewers on Tuesday to get their first win of the National League Division Series.

Now, the Padres will look to tie the series up, but this time will have a little more help in the bullpen.

On Tuesday, less than an hour before Game 3, the Padres placed All-Star closer Mason Miller on the paternity list. Additionally, the team revealed after the game that left-handed setup man Adrian Morejon was unavailable with a shoulder issue.

Thus, starting pitcher Michael King, who threw 72 pitches on Sunday, entered the game in the eighth inning and recorded the final six outs.

One day later, here's the latest on the Padres bullpen.

Mason Miller: Available

Miller has officially been returned from the paternity list and is available for Game 4. It would be a big surprise if he didn't pitch on Wednesday night.

"Everything went well so far with him and his wife," manager Craig Stammen said.

Miller last pitched on Sunday in Game 2 when he blew the save on his 40th pitch of the night in his second inning of work.

Michael King: Available

Somehow, King is available again for Game 4.

After making 32 starts and pitching 185 innings in the regular season, King has already taken down 14 innings in the postseason.

He pitched seven shutout innings in wild-card Game 1 last Tuesday. Then, he pitched five innings this past Sunday and another two on Tuesday.

And yet, he could pitch again on Wednesday.

"We're at that point in the season where it's everybody, whatever they can give us, we're going to use," Stammen said. "There is no tomorrow if we don't win tonight."

Adrian Morejon: Uncertain

As for Morejon, he's dealing with what Stammen called "stickiness" in his shoulder. He said the team wouldn't know Morejon's availability until closer to game time.

“Waiting for him to come in and see how he’s feeling, but he was feeling a little bit better postgame last night,” Stammen said. “So hopefully, we’re hopeful today that he’ll be available.”

How will the team determine his availability?

"Same way we do throughout the regular season," Stammen said. "Bring him in, trainers check him out, go out and play catch, see how he feels, if he wants to throw off the mound or not. Reevaluate what that looks like, how he feels, talk with him one-on-one, talk to the group and then decide what our pitching plan is for the game."

The Rest of the Pitching Staff

Right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler is getting the start on Wednesday night in his 2026 postseason debut.

"Expecting playoff Walker Buehler," Stammen said. "He's a very successful pitcher in the playoffs."

Behind him, everyone is expected to be available except right-hander Nick Pivetta, who took down 4.1 innings on Tuesday.

That means the Padres should have the following players available behind Buehler:

Jason Adam (R)
Michael King (R)
Yuki Matsui (L)
Mason Miller (R)
David Morgan (R)
Joe Musgrove (R)
Robbie Ray (L)
Bradgley Rodriguez (R)

The only question is whether or not Morejon will be available. That will likely be answered during the game if he gets up to throw or not.

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