Padres vs. Brewers

For most of their history, the Padres and Brewers barely registered with each other. Milwaukee spent three decades in the American League, and the two teams had never met in October. Then came the 2026 NLDS: four games, three decided by one run, a ball that hit the roof, and a walk-off that still stings in San Diego. It’s not Padres-Dodgers, but it’s the start of something.

Do the Padres and Brewers Play Each Other?

Yes, every season. The Brewers are in the NL Central, so they’re not a division rival, but under MLB’s balanced schedule the Padres see them in a series or two each year. In 2026, they met six times in the regular season and four more in the NLDS.

Padres vs. Brewers in 2027

The Brewers are on the Padres’ 2027 schedule, including a weekend series at Petco Park. Check the full Padres schedule for dates as the season gets closer.

Before that, the two teams meet in spring training on Friday, March 19, 2027, at American Family Fields of Phoenix — a 6:10 PM Arizona-time night game, the only night game on Milwaukee’s spring home schedule. That’s assuming spring training happens on time; the labor agreement between owners and players expires after this season, and a lockout is a real possibility.

The 2026 NLDS: Brewers Win 3-1

The Padres swept the Cubs out of the Wild Card round at Petco and flew to Milwaukee to face the 103-win, top-seeded Brewers. The Padres had won the regular-season series 4-2. None of that mattered once October started.

Game 1: Brewers 3, Padres 2 (Saturday, Oct. 3 — Milwaukee)

Robbie Ray didn’t make it out of the third inning, and the Padres spent the night chasing. They nearly caught up in the ninth. Ty France launched a deep fly ball that looked like a go-ahead home run — until it clipped wiring on American Family Field’s retractable roof and came down for an out. The Brewers held on, and Padres fans got a new reason to hate roofs.

Game 2: Brewers 4, Padres 3 (Sunday, Oct. 4 — Milwaukee)

This was the one that hurt. Michael King pitched into the sixth and the Padres carried a lead into the late innings. Manager Craig Stammen asked closer Mason Miller for a six-out save, something Miller hadn’t done all season. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Jackson Chourio lined a two-run single off Miller to walk it off. Two one-run losses, and the Padres flew home down 2-0.

Back on TV, David Ortiz declared the series over. Manny Machado had a few things to say about that before Game 3.

Game 3: Padres 4, Brewers 3 (Tuesday, Oct. 6 — Petco Park)

Season on the line, a packed Petco, and Nick Pivetta on the mound. Pivetta gave the Padres 4 1/3 innings, Jake Cronenworth homered, and the bullpen did the rest — Michael King, the Game 2 starter, came back two days later to get the final six outs for the save. Padres 4, Brewers 3, and there would be a Game 4.

Game 4: Brewers 3, Padres 1 (Wednesday, Oct. 7 — Petco Park)

Walker Buehler, just back from the paternity list, started and held Milwaukee to one run over three innings. Fernando Tatis Jr. homered. That was all the Padres got. Milwaukee’s pitching held San Diego to three hits all night — Robert Gasser, one of the prospects the Brewers got for Josh Hader in 2022, started, and Aaron Ashby followed with three hitless innings before Trevor Megill closed it out. The Brewers advanced to the NLCS, and the Padres’ 2026 season was over.

Final tally: three of the four games were decided by one run, and the Padres scored nine runs in the series. Counting the regular season, the teams split 10 games in 2026, 5-5.

Padres vs. Brewers in the 2026 Regular Season

The Padres won the season series 4-2.

• May 12: Brewers 6, Padres 4 (at Milwaukee)
• May 13: Padres 3, Brewers 1 (at Milwaukee)
• May 14: Brewers 7, Padres 1 (at Milwaukee)
• Aug. 10: Padres 3, Brewers 2 (at Petco Park)
• Aug. 11: Padres 11, Brewers 2 (at Petco Park)
• Aug. 12: Padres 4, Brewers 3, 11 innings (at Petco Park)

The August sweep at Petco came right in the middle of the Padres’ late-season surge. In the middle game, Luis Rengifo hit a grand slam against the team that had released him seven weeks earlier. In the finale, Jackson Merrill tied it with a sacrifice fly in the 11th and Luis Campusano won it with a two-out single.

The Brewers

Milwaukee finished 2026 at 103-59, the best record in franchise history and their first 100-win season. It was their fourth straight NL Central title and fifth in six years. Pat Murphy is the manager — yes, the same Pat Murphy who managed the Padres on an interim basis in 2015 after Bud Black was fired.

The Brewers don’t do it with a giant payroll. They do it with deep pitching, good defense, and a lineup that wins close games — which is exactly how they beat the Padres. They put up some silly numbers in 2026, too: a 22-0 win over Seattle in August, and a 20-0 shutout of the Reds to clinch a playoff spot in September.

The franchise is still looking for its first World Series title. Its only pennant came back in 1982, when the Brewers were still in the American League.

Padres-Brewers History

The 2026 NLDS was the first time the Padres and Brewers met in the postseason. Milwaukee moved from the AL to the NL in 1998, so there’s no long rivalry here. But there are plenty of San Diego connections:

• Trevor Hoffman finished his career in Milwaukee and recorded his 600th save as a Brewer in 2010.
• The Josh Hader trade in 2022 sent the All-Star closer to San Diego. Milwaukee got Taylor Rogers, Dinelson Lamet, Esteury Ruiz and Robert Gasser in return — and four years later, Gasser started the game that ended the Padres’ season.
• Pat Murphy, now the Brewers’ manager, finished out the 2015 season as the Padres’ interim skipper.
• Luis Rengifo played for Milwaukee early in 2026 before landing in San Diego and taking his old team deep in August.

American Family Field

The Brewers play at American Family Field, which opened in 2001 as Miller Park and took its current name in 2021. The big selling point is the fan-shaped retractable roof — which Padres fans now know all about. It’s a loud building when it’s full, and 2026 playoff crowds there topped 41,000.

If you’re making a road trip for a Padres series in Milwaukee, the tailgating culture is the real deal — the parking lots fill up hours before first pitch. Inside, watch for the Famous Racing Sausages in the middle of the sixth and Bernie Brewer going down his slide after a Brewers home run.

More Padres Matchups

• Padres vs. Dodgers
• Padres vs. Giants
• Padres vs. Rockies
• Padres vs. D-Backs
• Padres vs. Mariners
• Padres vs. Angels
• Padres vs. Yankees