Brewers' postseason history against Padres' Game 4 starter Walker Buehler is a good omen

After suffering a tense one-run loss to the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the National League Division Series last night, the Milwaukee Brewers once again have a chance to close out the series and advance to the National League Championship Series tonight.

The Brewers will send southpaw Robert Gasser to the mound in Game 4, for what will be the first postseason start of his career. Gasser, who was drafted by the Padres in the second round of the 2021 MLB draft and traded to the Brewers in the infamous Josh Hader blockbuster at the 2022 trade deadline, will look to continue his strong finish to the 2026 regular season tonight. The 27-year-old Gasser, who is making his first career start against the team that drafted him, last pitched on September 25, so he should be more than fresh for tonight's game. That said, with a majority of the Brewers' talented bullpen arms available for tonight's game, Pat Murphy likely won't ask for too much length from Gasser in Game 4.

Opposing Gasser tonight will be 32-year-old right-hander Walker Buehler, who was reinstated from the paternity list on Monday. Buehler, who was signed to a minor league contract back in February, made 32 starts for the Padres this year and posted a 4.63 ERA. Several injury-riddled seasons have converted Buehler from a high-velocity, high-strikeout starter into a crafty veteran with a kitchen-sink arsenal of pitches. He generates very few whiffs and very little chase with his new arsenal, but does a fine enough job keeping certain hitters off-balance. That said, Buehler did allow at least one home run in each of his final seven regular season starts.

Buehler certainly isn't on the same level as Michael King or Nick Pivetta, who started Games 2 and 3 for the Padres, respectively, but his postseason experience is not something to be overlooked. Thankfully, for the Brewers, Buehler's postseason experience is actually a good omen, as the Milwaukee had some success against Buehler back in the 2018 NLCS, when the right-hander was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Brewers last road playoff win, Christian Yelich's last postseason home run, each came against Padres' Game 4 starter Walker Buehler

In losing Game 3 to the Padres on Tuesday night, the Brewers extended their ignominious streak of 12 consecutive road playoff losses. That streak dates back to Game 3 of the 2018 NLCS -- a game the Brewers won by a score of 4-0 at Dodger Stadium to take a 2-1 lead in the series. The starting pitcher for the Dodgers in that game was none other than Buehler, who was in the midst of his first postseason run.

The Brewers scored four runs in seven innings off Buehler back in Game 3 of the NLCS, aided by a first-inning RBI-double by Ryan Braun and a two-run homer from Orlando Arcia. Milwaukee's pitching staff shut out the Dodgers, and therefore, Buehler was tagged with the loss. So the last time the Brewers won a road postseason game, Buehler was the losing pitcher, and now he's taking the bump for the Padres in tonight's Game 4 matchup. Yes, he's a completely different pitcher, and other than Christian Yelich, the Brewers' lineup is completely different, but that's a good omen nonetheless.

Speaking of Yelich, the Brewers' captain broke a lengthy streak of 87 plate appearances without a postseason RBI last night, but his streak of playoff games without a home run persists. Since crushing a home run in the first inning of Game 7 of the 2018 NLCS, which was also Yelich's most recent postseason RBI before last night, the former MVP hasn't left the yard in the playoffs. However, that first-inning homer in the Brewers' final playoff game of the 2018 season came off of Buehler, who Dave Roberts turned to for the first 4.2 innings of the winner-takes-all game.

Yelich has been torching the baseball during the first three games of this year's postseason, with an average exit velocity of 96.4 mph to prove it, and narrowly missed a go-ahead home run in Game 2. Perhaps seeing Buehler on the mound will jog memories of 2018 for the Brewers' captain and lead to his first postseason homer in eight years.

Much has changed since the last time the Brewers faced Buehler in October, but a road playoff win and a Yeli postseason homer each resulted from those matchups back in 2018. Maybe that good omen is the spark the Brewers need to overcome their road woes in the postseason.

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