NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS BREWERS

October 6, 2026

Michael King

Jake Cronenworth

Petco Park

San Diego Padres

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Padres - 4, Brewers - 3

Q. Michael, I think the last thing you said in Milwaukee was you were available for today. When did you make yourself available? How do you think it went?

MICHAEL KING: I made myself available on Sunday, confirmed it with Stammen today. I knew that there was a chance it was going to be late in the game because of Mason's wife, but six outs to end the game is six outs to end the game.

I wasn't as crisp as I'd like to be, but I'm very happy for a Game 4.

Q. Was this essentially like your bullpen session? I assume you did not throw one.

MICHAEL KING: I'll probably do another one tomorrow.

Q. Your part in the game, this was a complete team win. Obviously it was huge because it was a must win, but can you speak to kind of the nature of this victory and what it says about you guys?

MICHAEL KING: A ton of really good defensive plays. Obviously to end it, Bogy positioned perfectly and then fielded the short op and turned two is great. Jackson made some sick plays. It was a cool vantage point being out in the bullpen for a couple of those. Clutch hitting right after they tied it up. All in all, a very good game.

Q. Speaking of that, Jake, can you just take us through that? Obviously they had just tied the game. First swing, what were you looking for, what was that like?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: I think just preparation looking at how they've kind of been attacking this, especially the guys in the bullpen this entire series. Super aggressive team out of the bullpen. They tried to get strike 1 and just looking to put a good swing on a pitch.

Q. What has it been like to play in this series? From our vantage point, every game is incredibly tight, incredibly tense. What's it like to be a part of it?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: They've been great games. I think the biggest thing is runs are coming at a premium, especially the way our bullpen is pitching, their bullpen is pitching. You score early, but then you've got to kind of add some insurance. Huge hit by Bogy and the stolen base to get out there for that insurance run.

Q. Craig just came in here and said that you had told him you're ready for Game 3, you're ready for Game 4, and ready for Game 5. It would be obvious for us to say a guy would want to do anything for his team. What does this moment and this opportunity to be there for your team and do anything for your team mean to you?

MICHAEL KING: I mean, they come first. I think that everybody out there wants to contribute. I know that I have bullets in my arm that I don't want to save. I felt like it needed to be the right time. I think that it all aligned with Mason going on paternity. Even if he was available, I was still going to be up and ready to go in whatever situation that presented itself.

Yeah, if you're in an elimination game, you want everybody to be all in on it, and I feel like not just me included, we have a bunch of dogs down there that are all in.

Q. Jake, for you, I know you hit the home run, but you guys had a lot of small ball-type plays, stealing bases, you bunting over Samad to third and Tatis ground out, able to bring Samad home, and then Xander running around the bases when an error happens. How big was the small ball for you guys today to come out with the win?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: I think a lot of the games you watch Samad play in, he's creating some type of havoc, whether it's a stolen base or a bunt. I think today's game is a perfect example of how we've been playing the last two months, and it's everybody. The play from Xander, Michael coming in from the bullpen, Bradgley throwing an inning and two thirds, Yuki getting a bunch of huge outs. You can go down the list, and everybody tonight contributed.

You look at the games we've won the last two months, and that's been a huge factor.

Q. Jake, obviously the two tough losses and then rebounding and doing what you guys did tonight, how can that back against the wall, take what you guys did today. You've got Petco and the fans here tomorrow, how can that -- can that have momentum into tomorrow's game, or it's just completely separate what happened from today to tomorrow?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: I think it absolutely can. I think you look at the situation we've been in for, shoot, over half the season. It's kind of been our backs against the wall. We've been fighting since before the trade deadline to survive.

I think no team's more battle tested than we are right now at that position.

Q. We got Michael's perspective on Jackson's catches. We'd like yours as well, Jake, especially the one to start the game. Maybe how that set the tone.

JAKE CRONENWORTH: Those plays are huge, especially early in the game. You prevent a double to start the game, the leadoff double, and then you make a huge play later in the game. And even there in the early innings. He's a great center fielder, and those are the type of plays that can change momentum for sure, especially keeping a guy off second base to start the inning.

Q. Not your first big moment in the postseason here, just knowing the highs and lows of baseball in general and certainly this month, can you kind of describe the emotions of coming through with a swing like that in a game like this?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: It's hard to describe, but it's one of those things that just when it happens, you get excited. I don't know what else to say.

Q. Not just because he's sitting next to you, but the performance that Michael had tonight after pitching on Sunday and coming in tonight and saving that game, just what does that say about not only him, but your guys' urgency to try to get that at all cost?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: It's a must-win game. You heard Mike speak on it, it's all hands on deck. He went out there and picked us up big time. It was a great bullpen session for Mike.

MICHAEL KING: That's the nicest thing you've ever said about me.

Q. Jake, kind of like the one just had, I know you're all about the team winning, but it's been a rough postseason for you so far. I was just wondering what that felt like and the fact that you do seem to come through in big moments in the postseason?

JAKE CRONENWORTH: Yeah, it felt good. I feel like I've been having good at-bats. It happens when it happens. It doesn't happen when it doesn't. It's hard to get a hit in this game, especially with the arms that we're facing.

Q. Obviously you needed the win, that's the bottom line, but you guys have played right with these guys. You could arguably say you guys have played better than them these three days. How frustrating were those first two, and how much did this sort of open up like...

JAKE CRONENWORTH: I think you look at it, we had the lead in the first two games, and obviously we come back home 0-2. The mentality of the group is we're 0-2, but we've kind of been 0-2 the entire year. Now we've got a game tomorrow and go out and tie it back up.

Q. When was the last time you did something like this, like five innings one day, two the next?

MICHAEL KING: I have no idea. I don't know if I ever have.

Q. So then maybe having never done it, the process from after Game 2 and like how you got ready for today, did you do anything differently? How did you kind of make sure that knowing that you could be out there on such short rest, that you were ready for the moment?

MICHAEL KING: More recovery yesterday. Today I kind of got totally out of routine because normally I'm just kicking my feet up watching the game. I was trying to tap back into that bullpen mentality I used to have of saving my best bullets for game time. Light day catch, little bit of recovery stuff, but knowing that I had to be going.

I definitely changed recovery on day one, and then today was routine just trying to make sure I had as much adrenaline as I possibly could going into that.

Q. I know you said you wanted to be available, but was there a moment where you said you were probably going to be available, you were probably getting in this game. Is it around when you heard about Mason or --

MICHAEL KING: No. It was only 70 pitches on Sunday. That's kind of a glorified bullpen. I felt like I knew that I was going to be ready today and tomorrow.

Q. Throw many 70-pitch bullpens?

MICHAEL KING: I've seen Dylan do it a couple times, but no, I've never done it.