Padres, on a postseason quest, battle MLB-best Brewers

The highlight of Luis Rengifo's 57-game stay with the Milwaukee Brewers was a three-RBI day on May 14 in a 7-1 drilling of the San Diego Padres.

Designated for assignment by Milwaukee in June, Rengifo exacted his revenge Tuesday night for host San Diego. His second-inning grand slam sparked the Padres to an 11-2 rout of the Brewers.

Rengifo and his new team will aim for a series sweep on Wednesday afternoon, with a win aiding the Padres in their attempt to qualify for the postseason.

San Diego has won four straight games and 14 of its past 18, dating to a 4-2 victory on July 24 in Miami that saw Rengifo crack a two-run, pinch-hit homer to snap an eighth-inning tie.

The player who hit just .205 before the Brewers cut him loose is batting .321 in 81 at-bats with the Padres. That includes three homers, 12 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .415.

"He came along at the right time, and we needed a little spark and energy, and he came up with a hot bat too," San Diego manager Craig Stammen said. "Luis has come through with a lot of big hits for us."

With Rengifo setting the pace Tuesday night, the Padres joined the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies as one of three teams fighting for the second and third National League wild-card spots at 64-57.

San Diego will attempt to claim the lead for one of those spots with left-hander Robbie Ray (10-7, 3.24 ERA) taking the mound on Wednesday.

Ray is coming off a 6-3 loss Friday to the Houston Astros in his club debut after being acquired Aug, 3 from the San Francisco Giants for two prospects. Ray gave up seven hits and four runs in five innings, walking five and striking out two.

He is 3-1 with a 2.62 ERA in six career starts against Milwaukee.

The Brewers will counter with a trade-deadline acquisition of their own, right-hander Dustin May (6-7, 4.30 ERA). He debuted for the team last Thursday in a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, permitting just three hits and two runs in six innings while walking three and striking out five.

May one-hit San Diego on June 15 in a 3-0 win while pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is 3-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 15 career appearances vs. the Padres.

Milwaukee has the majors' best record at 74-46 but is trying to put some pieces together after injuries to shortstops Cooper Pratt and Joey Ortiz. Platinum Glove second baseman Brice Turang made his first start at shortstop since 2023 on Tuesday night, while David Hamilton moved back to third and former Pittsburgh infielder Jihwan Bae got the call at second.

Turang came through the organization as a shortstop but switched to second when he made the majors, because Willy Adames was entrenched at short.

"I think (Turang) will be fine," Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. "There's things he's not used to, and I don't want to do this every day. I'm glad that Cooper and Joey are going to be back soon, barring a setback."

Murphy hopes his team's usually productive offense makes an appearance at some point on a seven-game trip through Southern California, with a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers starting on Thursday night.

The Brewers have just four runs in the first two games of the series vs. San Diego.

--Field Level Media