Michael King closed out Game 3 for the Padres with the final six outs on October 7, 2026, helping San Diego stay alive in the NLDS and forcing the series to continue. The final play came when Christian Yelich grounded into a game-ending double play to Xander Bogaerts, ending a Brewers threat and sending the Padres back to work for Game 4.
The result mattered for more than just one night. Milwaukee's road playoff losing streak reached 12 straight games, matching the longest streak in postseason history. The Brewers have not been able to solve that road issue in October, and this finish only added to the pressure as the series shifts again.
How the game turned late
On Tuesday, Chris Sale and Yoshinobu Yamamoto cruised through three innings before the fourth inning changed the tone. Kiké Hernandez homered off a Sale changeup into the left field stands, giving the game another jolt and fitting into the kind of playoff moment Dave Roberts summed up by saying, "We needed a little bit of that Kiké dust."
That set the stage for the closing sequence, where the Padres turned to Michael King and asked him to finish what had become a tight postseason battle. He did exactly that, working the final six outs and preserving San Diego's season for at least one more game.
What comes next
Tonight, Walker Buehler will get the ball for the Padres as the series moves forward. The larger timeline still includes last year's Game 6, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto made a six-inning winning start, and Game 7, when he was credited with an eight-out win in an extra-inning clincher versus the Blue Jays. For now, though, Game 3 belongs to King, and to a Padres team that found a way to extend its NLDS run.
