Padres’ Mike Shildt calms fears with bullish bullpen update for NL Wild Card Game 3

The Padres didn’t just survive Game 2 — they authored the kind of October blueprint managers daydream about. Dylan Cease set the tone with 3 2/3 scoreless frames, then the leverage ladder did its ruthless thing: Adrian Morejon for 2 1/3, Mason Miller for 1 2/3, and Robert Suarez for the final 1 1/3. Four hits allowed, zero runs, and not a single moment that felt out of the bullpen’s control. In a series defined by razor margins, San Diego flexed the one trait that travels to any ballpark on any night: run prevention with teeth.

That dominance came with an obvious follow-up: what does emptying the tank on Wednesday mean for a winner-take-all Thursday (Oct. 2)? The calendar leaves no oxygen — three games in three days means familiar arms would be asked to shoulder more. But this is exactly where Mike Shildt leans into his group’s preparation and identity. The Padres have built all season toward being comfortable in discomfort, and after Game 2, the manager made it clear the leash on his best relievers isn’t a leash at all — it’s a green light.

Padres’ bullpen confidence grows as Game 3 showdown with Cubs looms

“We’ve only had two guys go three days in a row all year, and we’ve done it and saved it for these circumstances,” Shildt said. “Obviously, in an elimination game, there’s special circumstances.”

Translation: the calendar won’t keep San Diego’s best out of the fight. If the game script asks for the same trio, Morejon’s length to bridge, Miller’s electricity to slam the door on the middle, Suarez’s calm to land the last punches — Shildt won’t blink.

The beauty of Game 2 wasn’t just the zeros; it was the sequencing. Cease handed the baton at the perfect moment, Morejon neutralized traffic and kept the Cubs off-balance, Miller overpowered pockets. The nine combined innings felt intentional, not reactive, a reminder that the Padres’ bullpen is less a list of names and more a set of tools Shildt can deploy to fit the inning, the hitter, and the heartbeat of the moment.

Naturally, fans worry about the toll. Three straight days is a lot, even for a hardened playoff ‘pen. But October math is different. Pitch counts shrink while urgency expands, and the directive simplifies: win the inning in front of you. The Padres prepared for this exact stretch — how to bounce back between games, how to stretch without overextending, how to navigate left-right pockets without conceding leverage. If that means the same horses saddle up again, so be it. They didn’t spend six months building this engine to idle it at the on-ramp.

And that’s the throughline into Game 3: expect another chess match, not a copy-paste. If the Cubs present a soft spot early, the hook will come early. If the game demands octane in the sixth, it’ll get octane in the sixth. 

As simple and as good as it gets, Shildt used what’s probably his best three relievers in high-leverage pockets in Game 2 fully aware he may need them again for Game 3. Why shouldn’t he? 

Close the loop, and the message is steady: fear down, focus up. San Diego’s bullpen just validated the plan and previewed the mentality. If the Padres execute a similar script in Game 3, they won’t just survive the Wild Card, they’ll earn a ticket to Milwaukee with a staff that knows exactly who it is and how it wins when the season hangs by a thread.

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