Padres Lose All-Star Closer Mason Miller to Paternity List Before Must-Win NLDS Game 3

The San Diego Padres took the field for their season-saving Game 3 without the most overpowering arm in their bullpen. Major League Baseball approved the club's move to place closer Mason Miller on the postseason paternity list on Tuesday, about 45 minutes before first pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park. Miller's wife, Jordan, went into labor on Tuesday afternoon to deliver the couple's first child. Under postseason rules, Miller can be away from the club for as little as one day and no more than three, so he was guaranteed to miss the elimination game and possibly more of the series. Left-hander Wandy Peralta took Miller's place on the 26-man NLDS roster and will be removed from the roster once Miller returns. Miller is the second Padres pitcher to land on the paternity list during this series: starter Walker Buehler spent the two games in Milwaukee on the list before returning Monday. The timing could hardly have been worse for San Diego. Miller, 28, was one of baseball's elite closers this season, going 5-2 with a 1.67 ERA while tying for the National League lead with 38 saves and striking out 129 batters in just 70 innings, earning his second All-Star nod. But he also took the loss in Sunday's 4-3 Game 2 defeat, returning for a second inning after a clean eighth and walking three before Jackson Chourio ended it with a two-out, two-run single. Facing a 2-0 series deficit, the Padres also scratched designated hitter Gavin Sheets with neck stiffness, with Samad Taylor taking his lineup spot. San Diego still found a way to win 4-3 without Miller, with Michael King recording a six-out save to force a Game 4 on Wednesday night.