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SAN DIEGO — The Padres will face elimination Tuesday night without the most terrifying arm in their bullpen.
Major League Baseball approved San Diego closer Mason Miller’s placement on the Postseason Paternity List ahead of Game 3 of the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park, meaning Miller will be unavailable as the Padres try to keep their season alive.
Left-hander Wandy Peralta will replace Miller on San Diego’s NLDS roster. Miller must remain away from the club for at least one day and no more than three, and will replace Peralta upon his return.
Miller’s absence leaves an enormous hole for a Padres team already staring over the edge after dropping the first two games in Milwaukee.
Miller was one strike away from completing a six-out save Sunday when everything unraveled. He walked three batters in the ninth before Jackson Chourio ripped a 101-mph fastball into center field for a two-run, walk-off single and a 4-3 Brewers victory.
It was a stunning stumble from one of baseball’s most overpowering relievers.
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Miller went 5-2 with a 1.67 ERA, 38 saves and 129 strikeouts in 70 innings during the regular season. Last October, he announced himself to the postseason by striking out the first eight batters he faced — the longest such streak to begin a playoff career — while unleashing a 104.5-mph fastball, the fastest tracked pitch in postseason history.
Now the Padres must survive without their human flamethrower.
Nick Pivetta gets the ball in Game 3, but if San Diego carries a late lead Tuesday, somebody else will have to protect it.
