Our Milwaukee Brewers vs San Diego Padres preview covers the odds, run line, total, probable pitchers, first pitch time, TV channel and where to watch for Game 3 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. The No. 1-seeded Milwaukee Brewers (103-59) and the No. 4-seeded San Diego Padres (91-71) meet at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., where the Brewers lead the best-of-five series 2-0 and the Padres face elimination. First pitch is 9:30 PM ET (6:30 PM PT). TV: FS1 / FOX One.
Division Series storyline: Milwaukee rallied from 2-0 deficits in both games at American Family Field, winning Game 1 3-2 on Contreras’ seventh-inning homer and Game 2 4-3 on Chourio’s walk-off single. MLB.com noted teams with a 2-0 lead have won 83 of 93 best-of-five postseason series, and the last team to come back from 0-2 in a best-of-five was the 2017 Yankees in the ALDS. San Diego, which entered the postseason with 20 wins in its last 23 games, lost back-to-back games for the first time since Sept. 1-2 (AP). The Padres won the regular-season series 4-2, including a three-game sweep at Petco Park on Aug. 10-12. The probable pitchers are Dustin May for the Brewers and Nick Pivetta for the Padres. DraftKings lists the Padres at -136 on the moneyline and the Brewers at +113, with the total at 7.
Milwaukee Brewers vs San Diego Padres Odds, Run Line & Game Info
| Matchup | Milwaukee Brewers @ San Diego Padres |
|---|---|
| Series | National League Division Series (NLDS), Game 3 — best-of-five, 2-2-1 format |
| Series Score | Brewers lead 2-0. Game 1: Brewers won 3-2 (Saturday, Oct. 3). Game 2: Brewers won 4-3 (Sunday, Oct. 4). Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 6, 9:30 PM ET at Petco Park; Game 4 (if necessary): Wednesday, Oct. 7, 10 PM ET at Petco Park; Game 5 (if necessary): Friday, Oct. 9, 4:30 PM ET at American Family Field |
| Seeds | Milwaukee Brewers No. 1 | San Diego Padres No. 4 (NL) |
| 2026 Records | Milwaukee Brewers 103-59 (48-33 on the road) | San Diego Padres 91-71 (51-30 at home) |
| How They Got Here | Brewers: First-round bye as NL Central champion and No. 1 seed | Padres: Swept the No. 5 Chicago Cubs 2-0 in the NL Wild Card Series (8-0, 4-1) |
| Run Line | Brewers +1.5 (-201) | Padres -1.5 (+164) |
| Moneyline | Milwaukee Brewers: +113 | San Diego Padres: -136 |
| Total | O/U 7 (Over -117 / Under -103) |
| Probable Pitchers | Brewers: Dustin May (RHP, 7-9, 4.70 ERA, 31 GS, 145.2 IP, 144 K, 50 BB, 1.32 WHIP; 2-2, 5.65 ERA in 10 starts with MIL) | Padres: Nick Pivetta (RHP, 3-2, 2.86 ERA, 8 GS, 34.2 IP, 42 K, 8 BB, 1.01 WHIP; 3.1 IP, 1 ER in Wild Card Game 2) |
| Managers | Milwaukee Brewers: Pat Murphy | San Diego Padres: Craig Stammen |
| Venue | Petco Park (San Diego, Calif.) |
| Date / Time | Tuesday, October 6, 2026 — 9:30 PM ET (6:30 PM PT) |
| TV / How to Watch | FS1 / FOX One (Spanish: FOX Deportes) |
| 2026 Season Series | Padres won the 2026 season series 4-2 |
Odds via DraftKings (through ESPN) as of Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, 10:53 PM ET. Opening line: Brewers +101 / Padres -121, total 7. Lines move, so check your sportsbook before first pitch.
Brewers vs Padres NLDS Series Context
Format: The NLDS is a best-of-five series in a 2-2-1 format. Games 1 and 2 were at American Family Field, Games 3 and 4 are at Petco Park in San Diego, and a deciding Game 5 would return to Milwaukee. The full schedule is in the table above (MLB Stats API).
Game 1 recap: William Contreras hit a tiebreaking solo homer off Adrian Morejon (L) with two outs in the seventh inning, and the Brewers beat the Padres 3-2 at American Family Field on Saturday night after Jackson Chourio’s two-run homer off Robbie Ray erased a 2-0 deficit in the third. DL Hall (W) escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, Trevor Megill got the final four outs for the save, and Ty France’s deep drive in the ninth hit a roof cable and was caught by Chourio, with the out upheld on review (MLB.com). San Diego outhit Milwaukee 9-7 but went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base (MLB Stats API box score).
Game 2 recap: Chourio’s two-out, two-run single off Mason Miller (L) in the bottom of the ninth gave Milwaukee a 4-3 walk-off win on Sunday. Michael King retired the first 14 Brewers he faced and allowed one run in five innings (3 H, 6 K, 72 pitches), France drove in two runs with two-out singles, and Logan Henderson also went five innings (2 H, 2 R, 1 ER). The teams combined for five errors and three unearned runs (ESPN, MLB Stats API). Miller entered with a 3-2 lead for a six-out save, struck out two in a perfect eighth, then issued his first career postseason walks to Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick in the ninth (AP). Pinch hitter Gary Sánchez walked on six pitches to load the bases with two outs, and Chourio lined Miller’s 40th pitch, a 101.3 mph fastball, up the middle (MLB.com). Megill (W) threw a perfect ninth. AP noted Chourio, at 22 years and 207 days, is the second-youngest player with a postseason walk-off hit.
How they got here: San Diego swept the Cubs at Petco Park in the Wild Card Series, 8-0 behind seven one-hit innings from King and 4-1 behind Gavin Sheets’ two-run homer. Milwaukee went 8-2 in its last 10 regular-season games, and MLB.com noted the Brewers won 42 regular-season games in come-from-behind fashion (MLB Stats API, MLB.com).
Head-to-head: San Diego went 4-2 against Milwaukee in 2026. The Brewers won two of three at American Family Field in May (6-4 and 7-1), and the Padres swept three at Petco Park on Aug. 10-12 (3-2, 11-2 and 4-3) (MLB Stats API). This is the first postseason meeting between the franchises (FOX Sports).
Milwaukee Brewers Preview: NLDS Game 3
Season in review: Manager Pat Murphy‘s Brewers went 103-59, the best record in the majors, including 55-26 at home and 48-33 on the road. Milwaukee scored 832 runs and allowed 618, hit .258 with a .744 OPS and a .341 on-base percentage, stole 162 bases and posted a 3.51 team ERA with 55 saves (MLB Stats API). Jake Bauers led the club with 26 homers and an .873 OPS, Chourio hit .291 with 25 homers and 23 steals, Brice Turang drove in 100 runs and Contreras drove in 94 (MLB Stats API team leaders).
Lineup and who’s hot: MLB.com listed the Game 2 lineup against King as a reference: Chourio (LF), Turang (2B), Bauers (1B), Contreras (C), Garrett Mitchell (CF), Yelich (DH), Frelick (RF), Cooper Pratt (SS) and David Hamilton (3B). Chourio has a .958 OPS in the series after back-to-back multi-RBI games, while Turang is 0-for-7 (MLB.com). Joey Ortiz (abdominal, groin, right knee) was out of the Game 2 lineup for what MLB.com described as matchup reasons.
Bullpen and injuries: Milwaukee’s relievers have allowed no earned runs over nine innings in the series, and Megill, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby each pitched in both games before Monday’s travel day (MLB Stats API, MLB.com). Left-handers Robert Gasser (fully stretched out), Shane Drohan and Kyle Harrison are also on the roster (MLB.com). ESPN lists RHPs Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester (shoulder, 60-day IL), relievers Angel Zerpa and Brian Fitzpatrick (elbow, 60-day IL) and RHP Grant Anderson (biceps, 15-day IL).
San Diego Padres Preview: NLDS Game 3
Season in review: Under manager Craig Stammen, the Padres went 91-71, finished second in the NL West and earned the NL’s No. 4 seed. They were 51-30 at Petco Park and 40-41 on the road. San Diego scored 722 runs and allowed 681, hit .244 with a .717 OPS, stole 164 bases and posted a 3.99 team ERA with 48 saves (MLB Stats API). Manny Machado led the club with 30 homers and 91 RBIs, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit .289 with 25 homers and 38 steals, and Miller had 38 saves in 41 chances with a 1.67 ERA (MLB Stats API, ESPN).
Lineup and who’s hot: MLB.com projects Tatis (RF), Dustin Harris (LF), Machado (3B), France (1B), Jackson Merrill (CF), Sheets (DH), Xander Bogaerts (SS), Ethan Salas (C) and Cronenworth (2B). The rookie Salas has caught Pivetta extensively, and Sheets (left foot) is limited to DH and pinch-hitting. France has seven hits in 15 postseason at-bats, Machado and Bogaerts have five hits apiece, Austin Hays is 0-for-7 and Cronenworth is 1-for-13 (MLB.com).
Bullpen and injuries: Miller closes, with Morejon setting him up and Bradgley Rodriguez, Jason Adam and Yuki Matsui available earlier, and Walker Buehler returned from the paternity list Monday and is available in relief, Stammen said (MLB.com). Joe Musgrove, back from Tommy John surgery, is on the roster, and RHP Jeremiah Estrada (right shoulder) remains out. ESPN also lists RHP Casey Mize (ankle, 15-day IL), RHP Lucas Giolito (elbow, 60-day IL) and C Rodolfo Durán (forearm, 60-day IL). Miguel Andujar has returned from a wrist injury (MLB.com).
Starting Pitchers: Dustin May vs Nick Pivetta
Brewers: Dustin May (RHP). Murphy named May the Game 3 starter before Game 2, citing his postseason experience and his results against San Diego (MLB.com). May went 7-9 with a 4.70 ERA in 31 starts, with 144 strikeouts, 50 walks and a 1.32 WHIP in 145 2/3 innings: 5-7 with a 4.38 ERA in 21 starts for St. Louis and 2-2 with a 5.65 ERA in 10 starts after Milwaukee acquired him with reliever JoJo Romero from the Cardinals in an Aug. 3 deadline trade (MLB Stats API). MLB.com noted he allowed three earned runs over his first two Brewers starts, then went 1-2 with a 7.61 ERA over his final eight outings, including an Aug. 26 start in which he was struck by a comebacker on his first pitch. His last start was a three-inning outing against St. Louis on Sept. 26 (MLB Stats API). His road ERA was 5.88 in 14 starts. Against San Diego this season he made three starts (two with St. Louis) and allowed three earned runs in 22 innings with 22 strikeouts and five walks, a 1.23 ERA, including a one-hit shutout on June 15; MLB.com lists a 3.14 career ERA in 16 games (13 starts) against the Padres. His postseason experience came with the Dodgers in 2019 and 2020: a 3.86 ERA in nine games (three starts) over 14 innings (MLB Stats API).
Padres: Nick Pivetta (RHP). Pivetta went 3-2 with a 2.86 ERA in eight starts, with 42 strikeouts, eight walks, a 1.01 WHIP and a .206 opponents’ average in 34 2/3 innings (MLB Stats API). He went on the injured list in mid-April with a right elbow injury (listed as inflammation by the Stats API, a flexor strain by MLB.com) and returned Sept. 7, posting a 1.45 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings over four September starts. He started the Wild Card clincher against the Cubs on Sept. 30 and allowed one run in 3 1/3 innings (4 K, 66 pitches), giving him a 1.64 ERA in five starts since his return (MLB Stats API, MLB.com). He works on five days’ rest. Pivetta did not face Milwaukee this season and has an 8.76 career ERA against the Brewers, much of it from one 2017 outing as a Phillies rookie (MLB.com). In his career he has a 2.86 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 22 postseason innings over five games (three starts) with Boston and San Diego (MLB Stats API).
Key Matchup Notes: Brewers vs Padres Game 3
- Late innings: Milwaukee scored its go-ahead runs in the seventh inning or later in both games, against Morejon in Game 1 and Miller in Game 2, and the Brewers’ relievers have not allowed an earned run in nine innings in the series (one unearned run scored against Uribe in Game 2) (MLB Stats API, MLB.com).
- Bullpens: In Game 2, San Diego followed King (72 pitches) with Matsui (27), Rodriguez (13) and Miller (40, a season high per AP), and Milwaukee followed Henderson (72) with Romero (15), Uribe (26), Ashby (12) and Megill (9) (MLB Stats API). The Padres had Monday off to reset their bullpen (MLB.com).
- Close games: Both games in the series were decided by one run. San Diego is 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position and Milwaukee is 4-for-16 (MLB Stats API box scores). DraftKings lists the total at 7 for Game 3.
How to Watch Milwaukee Brewers vs San Diego Padres – NLDS Game 3
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026
First pitch: 9:30 PM ET (6:30 PM PT)
Venue: Petco Park, San Diego, Calif.
TV / Streaming: FS1 and FOX One, with Spanish-language coverage on FOX Deportes (MLB Stats API, MLB.com). In the U.S., the game is also available on MLB.TV with authentication to a participating pay-TV provider, and Sportsnet carries it in Canada (MLB.com).
The series winner advances to the NLCS against the winner of the Dodgers-Braves NLDS. If San Diego wins Tuesday, Game 4 would be Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Petco Park, and a deciding Game 5, if necessary, would be Friday, Oct. 9 at American Family Field. Check the run line, moneyline and total above against your sportsbook before the October 6, 2026 first pitch, and look for official lineups closer to game time.