NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS BREWERS

October 6, 2026

Craig Stammen

Petco Park

San Diego Padres

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Padres - 4, Brewers - 3

Q. You guys are alive. What do you make of that game and kind of all the twists and turns that it took?

CRAIG STAMMEN: It feels like we played three straight games against the Brewers like that. We finally were able to come out on the right end of things in this one. A lot of big effort from a lot of guys during the game to get us to the final score.

Q. Adrian unavailable tonight. Can you kind of go into why that was?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Adrian unavailable tonight. Still feeling a little stickiness in the shoulder. We're trying to work through it. We're doing everything we can to get him ready. We'll see his status about tomorrow, but he was definitely feeling a little bit better today but just didn't feel like he could go.

Q. That's from after Game 1. It clearly sounds like there's a chance he could pitch this series as it goes on?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Oh, yeah, there's definitely a chance, yeah. We'll see. We've got to evaluate him tomorrow like we did today and put him in a safe space to be able to pitch. We don't want to put him out there if he's compromised.

Q. You knew more than any of us how backed up you would be today. How did this game go in comparison to all the ways you mapped it out without Adrian and Mason?

CRAIG STAMMEN: It was hard to map out from the beginning just because both of those guys are unavailable, and we'd relied on them so much throughout the year. It was a chance for the other guys to pick those two up. We relied on them and got a lot of wins because they pitched so well this season. All the other guys stepped up and did their job today.

Q. Including Michael, what can you say about that?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Michael, he's the best 34 I've seen. He came in the office today and said I'm available to pitch. I'm available to pitch the next day, and I'm available to pitch Game 5. He's got an attitude of I'll do anything to help the team win, feel healthy and ready to go.

We felt comfortable getting him in the game today and using him in a very high leverage spot.

Q. Can a win like this -- I know it's win or go home, but just inside of that clubhouse, how it's every single person available, can it have a carryover to tomorrow just based off how you guys won today?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Yeah, we used a lot of energy today, and we've got to bring that same energy tomorrow also. It's going to be another fight just like the first three games, and I don't think I expect anything different.

The resilience we showed today, the stick-to-itativeness, the keep bouncing back, all the adjectives you can use for that, this team showed it all year, and they showed it especially again tonight. We're going to have to do it again tomorrow.

Q. A lot had been made in the first couple games about having runners in scoring position, not scoring enough. You did a lot of the small things today, stealing bases, bunting guys over to bring in a run, Xander coming off an error all the way around to hustle home. How big were those small things to come out with the win today?

CRAIG STAMMEN: They were huge. A lot of little things done well adds up to some big things, and that's what tonight's game was. We were looking for any way, any how to get a W. So anything was on the table and everything. The guys bought into that, and they accomplished it.

Q. Any update on Mason Miller and his wife having a child and if he's available tomorrow?

CRAIG STAMMEN: No update on that. I think Mason will make that public whenever they have a baby and everything's good to go.

Q. Cronenworth was having a rough postseason. How did it feel to see him take that at-bat and getting the ball over the fence?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Jake has a propensity to have some big hits in the playoffs. Tonight was a really big one also, big home run, left on left. You're not expecting that from him in that spot, but he got a good plan from the hitting coach, stuck with it, and was able to put one into the Cron zone.

One swing like that can unlock somebody, getting them going, getting them hot. Jake's a streaky hitter. Hopefully he goes on a hot streak here.

Q. Do you have a starter for tomorrow?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Not yet. We'll probably announce that for tomorrow.

Q. Can you take us through your understanding of Mason today, when he wouldn't be available, and kind of how that readjusted plans? Adrian, did he play catch? How did it all go down that you kind of realized when you wouldn't have these guys available?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Mason got a hold of us early afternoon, right when he would probably come to the ballpark. He was kind of monitoring the situation and just deciding if he's going to come today or things were going to happen. He decided that he needed to stay with his wife.

We knew sometime in the afternoon, but we wanted to give him enough time in case the baby comes really quick or it goes the other way, and he could come to the game. We gave him the opportunity. We waited until an hour a half, an hour before the game time to make the final call.

As far as Adrian goes, he did play catch today and actually threw off the mound today.

Q. How is it like for you preparing different scenarios knowing you might have Mason available, you might have Adrian available, you might have neither. How did that all come about, and how did you settle on this path?

CRAIG STAMMEN: I think we went into the game thinking neither one's available and pretty much prepared the day as if that was the case. You know if anything changed, that would have been good news, but nothing changed. So we knew we were going to have to rely on our whole pitching staff this postseason, and this was the first day of that.

Q. Jackson made a couple plays that may have saved the game right at the start. Can you just talk about your perspective on those and just how big they were?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Amazing plays he made in center field that, you're right, kept the momentum in our court, kept it from getting out of hand, big hits on their side. Probably, in my opinion, the two biggest plays of the game honestly, defensively, maybe, outside the double play at the end by Xander. Those two falls, who knows what type of momentum they get from the beginning of the game and how that momentum is dictated from there.

Allowed Nick to give us a few innings and get going in the game. Jackson has played phenomenal at center field all year, and those are two of his biggest plays.

Q. I know you said Michael came in and said he was ready to pitch today, tomorrow, whenever. When did you make the decision that he was the best guy to come in and pitch the eighth and the ninth?

CRAIG STAMMEN: I think how the game went when Nick had to come out of the game, when he came out of the game, I still wanted to use Yuki, Jason, Bradgley in some of those high-leverage situations where they had to get out of jams. I felt like they'd been doing it all year, it was more their situations.

Ideally, Nick pitches a little longer. You just use him for one inning, and Bradgley closes the game out. But having Michael back there was a little bit of a safety net. In case we had to use those guys early, we knew if we gave him a clean inning, he could be as good as one of those guys finishing the game.

Q. So if he threw 30 pitches tomorrow, would he be available to start on Friday?

CRAIG STAMMEN: He would say yes.

Q. He would say yes, but what would you say?

CRAIG STAMMEN: We'll talk about it tomorrow. There's different answers when the adrenaline is kicking in. Michael is willing to do anything for the team. It's pretty awesome to have someone like that, star player, be able to articulate that to me, the manager, and the coaching staff, and then go out and do it.

Q. Walker is back. I never saw if he was taken off the paternity list.

CRAIG STAMMEN: That happened yesterday.

Q. So he's available?

CRAIG STAMMEN: He's in the dugout today. He was available to pitch today.

Q. Saw him on the roster. And he's available for tomorrow?

CRAIG STAMMEN: He'll be available for tomorrow.

Q. Are you comfortable with Joe in a high-leverage situation at this point?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Yeah, I had him warming up twice in a couple of those. We're at the point, yeah, where he's going to have to be one of those guys. I still have visions of Joe when he's really good, and I know that version of Joe is in there. I believe in him, and he's going to get some big outs for us this postseason.

Q. Certainly if this game went extra innings, you would have used him, right?

CRAIG STAMMEN: Yeah.