San Diego Padres' Mason Miller reacts during the ninth inning of Game 2 of a National League Divisional baseball playoff series against the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Although the San Diego Padres have plenty of concerns in the face of playoff elimination, they don't believe Mason Miller tipping his pitches is one of them.

Padres manager Craig Stammen dismissed the widespread online speculation after Game 2 of the NL Division Series that the Milwaukee Brewers could tell what was coming from San Diego's vaunted closer when they rallied for two runs and a 4-3 victory in the ninth inning.

“We’ve got a crew of people that are dedicated to that every single day,” Stammen said Monday at Petco Park. “That is their sole job. We’re well aware of what’s going on with our pitchers, well aware of what’s going on with the Brewers pitchers and how they do things. It’s part of our daily (regimen). The internet can go crazy and take things farther than they need to go. We feel good about our process within that situation.”

But the Padres are still smarting from Miller's blown save, which put them in an 0-2 series hole.

While Stammen didn’t flat-out confirm the Padres are sure their All-Star reliever wasn’t tipping pitches, the manager downplayed the importance of the whole discussion.

“We’ve got a lot of guys on top of it, and we’re not really worried about it,” he said.

Miller threw only 21 of his 40 pitches for strikes over his two innings. The Brewers repeatedly laid off his sliders and errant fastballs while stringing together three walks in the ninth, taking no swings at a combined 17 pitches to Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick and Gary Sánchez.

Jackson Chourio then laid off a low 1-2 slider before delivering a two-out, two-strike, two-run single to win it. The Brewers claim they owe it all to the plate discipline of an offense that was first in the majors in hits and second in walks this season.

“I don't know if he was tipping or not,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “Seriously, I don't. And if he was, I wasn't aware of it. Even if he was and we were aware of it, hitting 104 (mph fastballs) is not easy by any means.”

Brewers manager Pat Murphy denied his team knew Miller's pitches in advance, but he acknowledged the importance of deciphering an opponent's plans when possible — and of preventing his own pitchers from tipping.

“I’d be not telling the truth if I didn’t tell you that it’s part of our game today in a big way,” Murphy said. “There's so many ways to give away a pitch.”

The Padres can take confidence from the fact they were one strike away from splitting the first two games with the majors' best regular-season team. Heck, many fans believe they were one strike and one roof cable away from claiming two wins in Milwaukee.

Instead, they're on the brink of winter as they welcome the Brewers to Petco, where San Diego was largely outstanding all season. Game 3 is Tuesday night.

“It’s not an easy job,” Padres slugger Manny Machado said. “It’s a tough road. You’ve got to deal with a lot of adversity. Here we are once again with our backs against the wall. We’ve overcome it once, and we can do it again — and we’re going to do it again.”

Pivetta starts for Padres

Nick Pivetta takes the mound for the Padres in their must-win game, and the veteran right-hander is grateful to be in this situation after he missed nearly five months of the regular season with a right elbow injury.

Pivetta believes the Padres have a roster capable of pulling off a comeback that's been managed by only 10 of the 93 MLB teams to fall behind 0-2 in a best-of-five series.

“We have a bunch of professionals in this room, a lot of really great players who have played in amazing games, who have World Series rings, that you can rely on in these moments,” Pivetta said. “Just coming together as a group is what I look forward to, and seeing us succeed as a group is going to be very special.”

May starts for Milwaukee

The Padres' veterans know Brewers starter Dustin May better than most starters thanks to his several years with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

May has faced San Diego 16 times since 2019. He already faced the Padres three times this season, even throwing a one-hitter against them for the Cardinals in June.

“It’s a really, really fun crowd to pitch in front of,” May said of Petco Park. “They’re very energetic. They get into it. They don’t take any pitches off. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of, for sure.”

Murph remembers Petco

Murphy was the Padres' interim manager for 96 games after Bud Black got fired in 2015, but that team had the fifth of nine consecutive losing seasons for San Diego in the 2010s.

Petco Park has transformed since, with late owner Peter Seidler and general manager A.J. Preller fielding a series of well-paid, competitive teams that have made the playoffs in five of the past seven years while pushing the Padres to second in the majors in attendance for the past two seasons.

“We didn’t have that environment that they have today,” Murphy said. “They have built a team here that the people come out in an incredible way. I’ve heard people say it's the best environment in baseball. I took over, and we were in fifth place. We didn’t move the needle that much after that. ... Hats off to A.J. and the job that the organization has done bringing in the star players the way they have and creating an environment that’s very, very advantageous.”

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