Miller stands alone, setting record for longest scoreless streak in Padres history

MEXICO CITY -- The bullpen gates opened, the heavy-metal chords blared, the lights dimmed. From left-center field at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, the hulking figure of Mason Miller emerged -- and the crowd went crazy.

“Petco South,” Padres manager Craig Stammen would later say.

Unaffected by the altitude, Miller nailed down the final three outs of the Padres’ 6-4 Mexico City Series victory over the Diamondbacks on Saturday night.

With the scoreless inning, Miller moved past Cla Meredith for the longest scoreless streak in Padres history -- now 34 2/3 frames.

“Big load off, for sure -- I think we can stop talking about it now,” Miller said with a wry smile. “Just keep pitching, see how long we can go.”

Bad news for Miller: He’s approaching another record that could soon have the whole baseball world talking.

Not only did Miller surpass Meredith for the top spot on the Padres all-time list, he’s now closing in on the longest scoreless streak by any reliever (since at least 1961). Miller currently sits eighth, 6 2/3 innings from passing Baltimore’s Gregg Olson for the top spot.

Longest scoreless streaks (relievers, since 1961)

1. Gregg Olson, Orioles: 41 IP (Aug. 4, 1989-May 4, 1990)
2. Brad Ziegler, A's: 39 IP (May 31, 2008-Aug. 14, 2008)
3. Ryan Pressly, Astros: 39 IP (Aug. 15, 2018-May 20, 2019)
4. Josh Hader, Brewers: 38 IP (Aug. 1, 2021-June 5, 2022)
5. Bob Moose, Pirates: 38 IP (Sept. 5, 1975-May 24, 1976)
6. Craig Kimbrel, Braves: 37 2/3 IP (June 14, 2011-Sept. 8, 2011)
7. J.C. Romero, Twins: 36 IP (June 26, 2004-Sept. 11, 2004)
8. Miller, Padres: 34 2/3 IP (Aug. 6, 2025-active)

Miller, of course, is still a long way away from tying Orel Hershiser’s all-time record of 59 innings. But the way he’s pitching ... would you put it past him?

That’s a pursuit for another day. Saturday was a night for celebrating Miller’s place in Padres history. He recently passed franchise icon Randy Jones -- who passed away last November at the age of 75 -- for the second spot on the list. On Saturday night, he moved past Meredith, who set the record during a dominant 2006 campaign.

“There’s a lot of great pitchers on [that list],” Miller said. “Passing Randy, getting to talk about him, and ultimately passing Cla, too -- it’s just reflecting back on Padres history. Now I’m a part of that. I think that’s pretty awesome.”

After Miller set the record, the Padres shared a video on social media of Meredith congratulating Miller. Meredith noted that he appreciated the way Miller attacked hitters -- and he even filmed the video while holding his own record-setting baseball.

“I’ve got to say thank you," Meredith quipped in the video. "This is the most relevant I’ve been in 20 years, since my streak.”

The Padres and Diamondbacks will wrap up the Mexico City Series with a day game tomorrow.

But -- let’s be clear -- Miller’s closer entrance, set to Korn’s ‘Blind,’ hits a lot harder at night. And for most of the night on Saturday, it seemed like the pro-Padres crowd might be deprived of it. San Diego fell behind 4-0 in the second inning.

But these Padres have a knack for comebacks. They seem to enjoy the late drama. Trailing by three in the seventh, San Diego staged a four-run rally, capped with a pair of sacrifice flies from Freddy Fermin and Ramón Laureano. Ty France tacked on an insurance home run for good measure, his second of the game.

“The biggest thing is the belief,” said Gavin Sheets, who hit a two-run single during that four-run seventh. “There’s just a no-quit belief. … Our pitching has been unbelievable. And then a lot of timely hits in the seventh inning or later.”

No one on that staff -- or in the sport -- has been more unbelievable than Miller.

He’s taken his dominance up a notch this season, punching out 27 of the 44 hitters he’s faced. That’s a ridiculous 61.3 percent clip -- even without any strikeouts from Miller on Saturday night. Only five of those 44 hitters have even reached base (two walks and three singles).

Afterward, Manny Machado was asked when he thought something like this might be possible for Miller, and Machado didn’t miss a beat:

“When we traded for him,” he said. “I don’t know about records. But I knew who he is.”

Miller was already one of the sport’s most dominant relievers when the Padres landed him in a blockbuster trade with the A’s last summer. In his second outing for the Padres, he allowed a two-run homer to the Diamondbacks’ Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

He hasn’t allowed a run since. (Miller did not face Gurriel on Saturday.)

Now, Miller stands alone with the longest scoreless streak in Padres history, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down. His fastball routinely hits 100+ mph. His slider is perhaps the sport’s best swing-and-miss pitch. He’s now throwing them for strikes more than he ever has.

Add it all up, and he’s become an international sensation. Either that, or they just love late-90s nu-metal in Mexico City.