Key Takeaways: Padres 3, Brewers 1

MILWAUKEE -- Holy Sheets, how did the Padres win that one?

Scoreless and down to their final out, Gavin Sheets launched a go-ahead three-run home run in the ninth inning off Brewers closer Abner Uribe, sending San Diego to an improbable 3-1 victory over the Brewers at American Family Field.

It marked the second time this week the Padres had been held scoreless through 26 outs, only to tie the game or take the lead with a homer. Nick Castellanos did so against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Here’s some instant reaction from Milwaukee:

Down, but not out

Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski stifled the Padres for seven innings. A slumping San Diego offense seemed destined to go down quietly against Uribe with two outs and nobody on in the ninth.

But Miguel Andujar shot a single just over the glove of Brewers second baseman Brice Turang and Xander Bogaerts worked a feisty walk to bring Sheets to the plate. Already this season, Sheets has launched a walk-off home run at Petco Park and a go-ahead ninth inning home run in Colorado.

He can add this one to his collection. Uribe hung a slider over the plate, and Sheets launched it over the right-center-field wall for his sixth homer of the season.

The Padres had Mason Miller loose for just the occasion, and Miller would nail down his 13th save.

A (preventable?) small-ball run

This is just what the Brewers do. They put pressure on you. They opened the scoring in the bottom of the fifth inning by hitting a whole bunch of ground balls -- and making the Padres work defensively.

Sal Frelick opened the frame with a clean single through the right side. Joey Ortiz followed with a bunt single. Second baseman Fernando Tatis Jr. couldn’t quite make it to the vacated first-base bag in time to cover. First and second, nobody out.

A batter later, Jackson Chourio proceeded to hit what could’ve been a double-play grounder. Manny Machado ran the lead runner back toward second, then took the force at second. But with Frelick hanging in no-man’s-land, Tatis just wasn’t comfortable making the throw back toward third base. Rather than a double play, the Brewers had first and third with one out. They would score on (what else?) a soft ground ball.

It’s hard to put too much fault on Tatis. He’s been mostly solid at second base since transitioning there part time last month. And these were nuanced defensive situations. But the Padres left outs on the table as a result. The Brewers -- as they usually do -- made sure to capitalize.

King in command

That was the only run Michael King would allow. He pitched 5 2/3 innings, striking out five while allowing six hits. This wasn’t his dominant best. But as we’ve seen time and time again this season, King doesn’t need to be at his dominant best to be effective.

You really can’t overstate what King has meant to this Padres rotation this season. It’s a rotation with Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove on the injured list (and no real end in sight for their absences). It’s a rotation with major question marks at the back end.

King has been a steadying presence. He lowered his ERA to 2.63 -- and he’s still convinced he can be better.