Overview
- On Tuesday night at Petco Park, Miller battled severe early command — nine of his first 10 pitches were balls and he issued two walks — then regained control after catcher Rodolfo Durán won an ABS challenge and pitching coach Ruben Niebla suggested a front-leg tweak to finish a 1-0 save.
- The next night, Miller walked Max Muncy and on a pickoff attempt his throw rolled past first base, the first error of his career, which allowed a runner to advance and set up the Dodgers’ go-ahead sacrifice fly in a 5-4 loss.
- Despite the back-to-back high-leverage swings, Miller remains the Padres’ primary closer with elite early-season numbers, converting all save chances and posting an exceptionally low ERA and high strikeout rate through the first two months.
- Padres staff and teammates praise Miller’s toughness and mechanical fixes but say they will monitor a modest drop in command and strikeouts in May that could affect late-inning reliability.
- The ABS challenge system directly swung a key count in San Diego’s favor and, given the Padres’ weak offense, these late-inning margins have immediate consequences for head-to-head NL West tiebreakers and the club’s division positioning.