Game 2 comes down to how deep each starter can go. Michael King is coming off seven scoreless innings in the Wild Card round. Logan Henderson is a rookie making his first playoff start, against the team that beat him two months ago. With both bullpens having thrown about five innings in the opener and no day off in between, the side whose starter goes longer has the edge late. I like San Diego here.
King needed 97 pitches for those seven scoreless innings and has a 2.05 career postseason ERA. If he gets into the seventh again, the Padres barely need their bullpen.
Henderson has been very good, with a 2.47 ERA and 110 strikeouts, but he threw 98 1/3 innings over 18 starts, so he usually hands the ball over in the fifth or sixth. That leaves another long day for a Milwaukee bullpen that had to cover five innings after Jacob Misiorowski lasted just four in game 1.
The opener could just as easily have gone San Diego's way. Milwaukee won 3-2 only after Ty France's ninth-inning drive hit the roof and came down in Jackson Chourio's glove. San Diego also swept all three games against the Brewers in August, and AP points out the Padres have given Milwaukee more trouble than any other team over the last three years.
