Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres
Game 1: 6:40 p.m. Monday (Padres.TV)
Game 2: 6:40 p.m. Tuesday (Padres.TV)
Game 3: 1:10 p.m. Wednesday (Padres.TV)
In the standings
Milwaukee Brewers (74-44, 1st in NL Central)
The Brewers have baseball’s best record and are 2 ½ games better than the Rays. Their plus-141 run differential is the best in the game. The Brewers have a 5½-game lead on the Cubs in the NL Central. The Brewers took two of three from the Padres in Milwaukee in May.
San Diego Padres (62-567, 3rd in NL West)
Taking two of three from the Astros has the Padres one game behind the Phillies and Diamondbacks in the race for the NL’s second and third wild-card spot. They also have a two-game cushion on the Marlins, the fifth team in that race. The Padres’ playoff odds have surged to 41.7%, as calculated by Fangraphs.com.
Trending
Milwaukee: The Brewers rank 12th in OPS (.733) since the All-Star break and seventh in ERA (3.43) since the start of the second half. OF Jackson Chourio has four homers and a 1.146 OPS in nine games to start the month and former Padres prospect Jake Bauers (Wil Myers trade) has two homers and a 1.023 OPS over that stretch. C William Contreras (.525 OPS) and OF Garrett Mitchell (.416 OPS) are both under .530 to start the month.
San Diego: The Padres’ .799 OPS since the All-Star break is fourth best in baseball, while the team’s 3.84 ERA this half ranks 13th. OF Jackson Merrill has hit eight of his 18 homers in 23 games (1.017 OPS) since the break, OF Fernando Tatis Jr (1.004 OPS) has six this half and 1B Ty France (.956 OPS) has five. 1B Gavin Sheets homered on Sunday but he still has a .502 OPS over his last 20 games.
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Logan Henderson throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, July 17, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Pitching matchups
Monday
Brewers RHP Logan Henderson (6-1, 2.70 ERA) | The second-year starter has a 2.39 ERA in 75 ⅓ innings since making his debut last year. He has a 95-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio to start his career and has allowed less than three earned runs in nine of his 10 starts so far this year. He’s completed six innings twice this year. This is Henderson’s first appearance against the Padres.
Padres RHP Casey Mize (4-7, 3.40 ERA) | He’s coming off the worst start of his career (3 ⅓ IP, 8 ER) in his Padres debut in Arizona on Aug. 5. Before that, Mize hadn’t pitched since July 25 as the Tigers anticipated trading their former No. 1 overall pick. Mize has a 3.18 ERA in two career starts against the Brewers, including a win earlier this year (6 IP, 1 ER, 3 BBs, 7 Ks).
Tuesday
Brewers LHP Kyle Harrison (9-2, 2.84 ERA) | The former Giants product is averaging a career-best 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings in his first season in Milwaukee. Harrison struck out 10 over five shutout innings in his last start, his first since missing roughly a month due to forearm tightness. Harrison struck out seven over five shutout innings in a win over the Padres in May in Milwaukee.
Padres RHP Walker Buehler (6-5, 5.07 ERA) | He has an 8.31 ERA in seven starts since the beginning of July and hasn’t completed five innings in four of those starts. Buehler allowed a run on six hits and a walk in four innings in his last start. He has a 2.93 ERA in three career starts against Milwaukee, the last in 2024 (3 ⅓ IP, 3 ER).
Wednesday
Brewers RHP Dustin May (6-7, 4.30 ERA) | He’s making his second start after coming over in a with LHP JoJo Romero in a trade with the Cardinals. May won his first start, allowed two runs over six innings, striking out five against three walks. May shut out the Padres on one hit and one walk in June while with the Cardinals. He struck out nine. May allowed three runs—two earned—in six innings in a loss in St. Louis to the Padres in May.
Padres LHP Robbie Ray (10-7, 3.24 ERA) | He’s also making his second start since the trade deadline, but Ray lost his Padres debut (5 IP, 4 ER) to start the homestand. Ray had a 1.09 ERA over his previous eight starts (49⅓ IP). Ray has a 2.62 ERA in six career starts against the Brewers, including two last year (10 IP, 5 ER).
Qualifying leaders
OPS: Brewers—1B Jake Bauers (.882), 2B Brice Turang (.823), OF Jackson Chourio (.819): Padres—OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.769), 3B Manny Machado (.717), 1B Gavin Sheets (.713).
HRs: Brewers—Bauers (21), Chourio (17), Turang (16); Padres—Machado (23), OF Jackson Merrill (18), 1B Ty France (16).
RBIs: Brewers—Turang (74), Bauers (67), C William Contreras (59); Padres—Machado (70), Merrill (59, Tatis (54).
Steals: Brewers—INF David Hamilton (21), Turang (16), OF Garrett Mitchell (11); Padres—Tatis (26), Merrill (23), SS Xander Bogaerts (16).
Saves: Brewers—RHP Trevor Megill (21-for-23, 2.58 ERA); Padres—RHP Mason Miller (29-for-30, 0.91 ERA).
Holds: Brewers—RHP Abner Uribe (18, 2.05 ERA), LHP Aaron Ashby (10, 3.56 ERA), Megill (7); Padres— LHP Adrián Morejón (18, 2.89 ERA), RHP Jason Adam (17, 2.51 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (10, 3.42 ERA).
Training room
Milwaukee: 3B Joey Ortiz is day-to-day after leaving Saturday’s game with neck tightness. The lineup is also without SS Cooper Pratt (hamstring) and OF Sal Frelick (shoulder). The pitching staff is missing RHPs Brandon Woodruff (shoulder), Joel Kuhnel (rotator cuff) and Quinn Priester (thoracic outlet syndrome) and LHPs JoJo Romero (appendectomy), Rob Zastryzny (trap), Angel Zerpa (forearm) and Brian Fitzpatrick (UCL).
San Diego: RHPs Joe Musgrove (elbow) and David Morgan (knee) made rehab appearances over the weekend for Triple-A El Paso. RHP Nick Pivetta (flexor) has not thrown a bullpen since leaving Tuesday’s rehab appearance with elbow discomfort. INF Miguel Andujar (wrist) is out of the split and beginning baseball activity. RHP Lucas Giolito (elbow) and OF Samad Taylor (oblique) have been working in Arizona. RHP Jason Adam (shoulder) is not back to throwing yet but eyeing a late-August return.