Padres Lose NLDS to Brewers in Heartbreaking Fashion, Face Another Long Offseason With Aging Core

The San Diego Padres lost Game 4 of the National League Division Series to the Milwaukee Brewers, officially bringing an end to their 2026 season.

The Padres fought hard in a back-and-forth NLDS, but ultimately came up short against baseball's best team this regular season.

Wednesday's game — and the entire series — was truly a game of inches.

Padres vs Brewers NLDS Game 4 Recap

Walker Buehler opened the game with a 1-2-3 top of the first inning on six pitches. Then, the Padres loaded the bases in the bottom of the first on two hits and a walk — including a bunt single by Manny Machado — but failed to bring a run across the board.

After quick second innings from both sides, the Brewers scored the game's first run in the third after Sal Frelick singled, stole second base and came home on a Garrett Mitchell RBI single.

The Petco Park crowd was temporarily taken out of the game, but Fernando Tatis Jr. changed that by crushing a solo home run to center field to lead off the bottom of the third.

Super El Niño 🔥 pic.twitter.com/K5ev3Y1CDA
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 8, 2026

Buehler returned for the fourth inning but gave up a leadoff single to William Contreras. He was then replaced by the left-handed Robbie Ray, who got out of the fourth inning unscathed.

In the top of the fifth, however, Ray gave up a leadoff triple and was replaced by right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez.

Rodriguez got a quick ground out before Jackson Chourio roped an RBI single to center field to give Milwaukee the lead. After another single and a fly out, manager Craig Stammen went to his third pitcher of the inning in left-hander Yuki Matsui. He got a fly out to keep the game within one run.

After another quiet half inning from the Padres offense, right-hander Jason Adam came in for the sixth and gave up a leadoff single followed by a double. After a sacrifice fly made it 3-1, Adam settled down and got two more outs to limit the damage.

Then, the Padres offense went quiet again.

In the top of the seventh inning, the newest father Mason Miller entered the game and recorded the Padres' first pitching strikeout of the night. He loaded the bases but was able to get out of the inning.

But yet again, the Padres offense was silent in the seventh inning.

Joe Musgrove pitched a scoreless eighth, and the Padres then came within inches of tying the game in the bottom half of the frame.

With one on and one out, Machado crushed a ball to center field that looked like it was going to be a home run.

Instead, Mitchell robbed it, and the Brewers maintained their 3-1 lead.

San Diego was this close to a game-tying homer 😱 https://t.co/s8XhTJZUq6 pic.twitter.com/VvR7jMLhwQ
— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2026

Machado's ball was 106.7 mph off the bat and went 406 feet. It had an expected batting average of .960 and would have been a home run in 19 stadiums.

Musgrove came back out for the ninth and pitched a scoreless frame. Then, the Padres went down 1-2-3, officially ending their season.

What's Next for the Padres After Early Postseason Exit?

The Padres have been unable to reach a World Series with this core of Machado, Tatis and Xander Bogaerts, among others.

While their World Series window isn't shut — especially after new owners Kwanza Jones and Jose E. Feliciano spent $3.9 billion to buy the team this year — San Diego's best and highest-paid players aren't getting any younger.

Machado had the lowest OPS (.711) of his career in 2026, and will be 34 next season. He's under contract through 2033, and is owed more than $39 million every year.

Bogaerts had a .676 OPS in 2026, and will also be 34 next season. He's owed more than $25 million per season through 2033.

Tatis is still just 27 years old. Jackson Merrill is 23. Ethan Salas made his MLB debut last month at the age of 20.

However, the Padres are losing a majority of their starting rotation to free agency and have a handful of relievers — including All-Star setup man Adrian Morejon — set to have their contracts expire.

At this moment, it's unclear what the team's budget will look like moving forward.

On top of that, an impending lockout could take out some or all of the 2027 season. If it does, that's another wasted year with this core.

For now, the Padres have to be proud of the season they had. At times, it looked like they were going to finish under .500. Instead, they won 91 games and made the playoffs for a third straight year for the first time in franchise history.

However, another season without a World Series appearance has to be considered a failure for this core.

It remains to be seen when their next opportunity will come.

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