Brewers NLDS Game 2 notes: Logan Henderson rematch, Michael King matchup, bullpen availability

The Milwaukee Brewers won a thriller on Saturday night to take a 1-0 series lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series, and their reward is a quick turnaround for Game 2 on Sunday afternoon.

Fans will still be talking about last night's "roof play," in which a cable supporting the retractable roof at American Family Field knocked down a fly ball off the bat of Ty France that may or may not have been a home run. Depending on who you ask, France's fly ball either would have landed short of the wall, sailed foul, or been a go-ahead two-run home run in the ninth inning, but the argument matters not, as the ground rules at American Family Field clearly state that a ball that strikes the roof in fair territory is a live ball. Therefore, when the ball landed in Jackson Chourio's glove after connecting with the cable, as frustrating as it may be for Padres fans, it was clearly an out.

Regardless of whether France's fly ball would have been fair, foul, short of the wall or over the top of it, the Brewers took Game 1, setting them up for an opportunity to take a commanding 2-0 series lead on Sunday afternoon before the teams travel to San Diego for Game 3. Let's take a closer look at three storylines that will play a key role in Sunday's matinee in Milwaukee.

Logan Henderson set to face Padres' lineup after quality start in San Diego in mid-August

The Brewers didn't get the dominant performance they were hoping for from Jacob Misiorowski in Saturday night's series opener; the Cy Young front-runner went just four innings and allowed two earned runs, largely due to inconsistent fastball command and the Padres fouling off a record-setting number of pitches. The Crew is hoping for a better outing from Game 2 starting Logan Henderson in Sunday afternoon's contest.

Henderson faced a similar Padres lineup back in mid-August and turned in a quality start despite the Brewers suffering a one-run loss. In that game, Henderson was excellent through six innings, but was asked to come out for a seventh frame, due to the Brewers sporting a short-handed bullpen at the time. Facing the Padres' lineup for the third time through, Henderson surrendered a two-run homer to Jackson Merrill that ultimately led to a Brewers' loss. However, the rookie right-hander was excellent for a majority of the outing, and ended with a 6.1-inning start in which he allowed three earned runs and collected seven strikeouts.

When asked about how much he can draw from that start as he prepares to face the Padres in Game 2 of the NLDS, Henderson replied, "A decent amount. [I will] go back and look at the scouting reports that we had going into that game, and I know we'll touch it over again. I have gone back and watched that outing a few times."

Henderson carries a streak of 23 consecutive starts at the beginning of his career in which he's allowed three earned runs or less into his first postseason start this afternoon. That streak is tied with right-hander Zac Gallen for the longest in MLB history. The Brewers are certainly hoping he extends that streak to 24 and surpasses Gallen's record in today's rematch against the Padres.

Brewers face Padres' ace Michael King after his dominant start against Cubs in Wild Card Series

After facing veteran left-hander Robbie Ray in last night's series opener, the Brewers will match up with Padres' ace Michael King in Game 2. The 31-year-old King quietly put together a dominant season in 2026, maintaining a 3.21 ERA while covering 185.0 innings across 32 starts.

Said Brewers' manager Pat Murphy on King before Sunday's game, "He's one of the most underrated pitchers in the game. When you mention the best pitchers in the game, you don't always put his name in there. But when you've watched what he's done and how he's done it, he's been really, really good."

King was definitely really, really good his last time out, when he faced the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. Facing what most statistics considered the best offense in baseball, King turned in 7.0 scoreless frames, in which he only allowed one hit while racking up eight strikeouts.

Neither his strikeout rate nor his walk rate jump off the page, but King excels at limiting hard contact, as evidenced by the fact that his average opponent exit velocity and hard-hit rate each rank in the 86th percentile or better. With San Diego's dominant bullpen looming, the pressure will be on for the Brewers to get to King and not let him replicate his Wild Card success in the NLDS.

Despite heavy bullpen usage in Game 1, most relievers should be available for both teams in Game 2

The Brewers and Padres both entered the NLDS with well-rested bullpen groups. Milwaukee, by virtue of their first-round bye, had five days off between the end of the regular season and their first postseason game. The Padres, thanks to their rout of the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series, had two days off and didn't use their relievers much during the week leading up to the NLDS. As a result, both managers are expected to rely heavily on their talented bullpens during the best-of-five series and did so on Saturday night in Game 1.

The Brewers used five relievers -- Antonio Senzatela, Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe, DL Hall, and Trevor Megill -- while the Padres used four -- Bradgley Rodriguez, Yuki Mastui, Jason Adam, and Adrian Morejon -- in last night's series opener. That type of bullpen usage would lead some to believe that both the Brewers and Padres will be short-handed in their 'pen in Game 2, but that's not the case.

Of the nine relievers used last night, only three reached the 20-pitch mark: Hall (20), Ashby (23), and Morejon (31). Usually, those three arms would be unavailable today, but since it's the postseason, both squads had plenty of rest leading up to the series, and there's an off-day tomorrow before Game 3, no reliever can officially be ruled out from pitching today. That said, it would be surprising to see Morejon cover multiple innings, as he often does, in Game 2 this afternoon, which could be a significant advantage for the Brewers. Despite allowing the go-ahead home run to William Contreras last night, Morejon has been one of the best relievers in baseball this year.

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