SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — The San Diego Padres found a way to keep their season alive, edging the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Tuesday at Petco Park in Game 3 of their National League Division Series. Milwaukee leads the series 2-1. The Brewers had won the first two games, both by one run, and they entered Tuesday two games ahead in the series. San Diego avoided elimination in a game that took 3 hours, 22 minutes and was played before 47,708 at Petco Park. The Padres played without their usual closer after Mason Miller was placed on the paternity list about an hour before first pitch. Michael King, who had pitched five innings in Game 2, recorded the final six outs for the save. All three games in the series have been decided by one run, the first time a postseason series has opened with three one-run games since the Dodgers and Braves met in the NLCS. The Brewers still lead the series, but the Padres have forced another game in San Diego.

San Diego starter Nick Pivetta set the tone, working 4 1/3 innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts. He entered the night off recent wins over Chicago and Los Angeles, and he kept Milwaukee off balance long enough for the Padres to build a lead. Milwaukee starter Dustin May lasted three innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts. The Brewers opened the game with a quiet first. Jackson Chourio flew out sharply to center, Jake Bauers was called out on strikes, and William Contreras flew out to center. The Padres also went quietly in the first. Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded out, Jackson Merrill struck out swinging, and Manny Machado walked before Ty France grounded out.

The Brewers put together a small threat in the second. Brice Turang struck out swinging, but Christian Yelich singled sharply to center. Garrett Mitchell flew out to left, and Cooper Pratt grounded into a force out that erased Yelich at second. San Diego went down in order in the bottom of the second. Ethan Salas struck out swinging, Xander Bogaerts was called out on strikes, and Dustin Harris flew out to third. Milwaukee had another chance in the third. Sal Frelick lined out sharply to center, Joey Ortiz singled on a ground ball to center, and Chourio flew out to left before Bauers was called out on strikes. The Padres broke through in the bottom of the third. Samad Taylor singled on a line drive to center, moved to third on Jake Cronenworth’s sacrifice bunt, and scored on Tatis’ groundout. Merrill then singled on a ground ball to center, and Machado singled on a ground ball to left to score Merrill. France flew out sharply to right to end the inning, but San Diego had a lead.

Milwaukee answered in the fourth. Contreras homered on a fly ball to left field, cutting the deficit to one. Turang grounded out, Yelich grounded out, and Mitchell was called out on strikes. San Diego tried to respond in the bottom half. Salas walked, but Bogaerts grounded into a force out that retired Salas at second. Harris was called out on strikes, and Taylor popped out to first in foul territory. The Brewers threatened again in the fifth. Pratt singled on a sharp line drive to center, and Frelick singled on a ground ball to left to put runners on first and second. Ortiz sacrificed both runners into scoring position. Chourio followed with a sacrifice fly to left that scored Pratt and tied the game. Bauers walked, and Contreras singled on a ground ball to shortstop to load the bases. Turang grounded into a force out that ended the inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Cronenworth homered on a fly ball to right field to put San Diego back in front. Tatis struck out on a foul tip, Merrill flew out to left, and Machado lined out sharply to left.

The Padres added what proved to be the decisive run in the sixth. Bogaerts singled on a line drive to left, and Miguel Andujar reached on a throwing error by shortstop Cooper Pratt. Bogaerts scored on the play, giving San Diego a 4-2 lead. Jase Bowen was then caught stealing second, with Contreras throwing to Turang. Milwaukee kept battling in the seventh. Chourio was called out on strikes, and Bauers struck out swinging. Contreras singled on a ground ball to center, and Turang singled on a fly ball to center that was deflected by left fielder Jase Bowen, moving Contreras to third. Yelich singled sharply to center to score Contreras and bring Milwaukee within one. Mitchell struck out swinging to end the inning. San Diego could not add insurance in the bottom of the seventh. Taylor grounded out, Cronenworth singled sharply to left, Tatis grounded into a force out, and Merrill struck out swinging.

Milwaukee had another chance in the eighth. Pratt lined out to right, Frelick grounded out, and David Hamilton singled on a ground ball to center. Chourio grounded out to shortstop to end the threat. San Diego went down in order in the bottom of the eighth. Machado grounded out, France grounded out sharply, and Salas grounded out. In the ninth, the Brewers made one last push. Bauers struck out swinging, but Contreras walked. Turang walked after a pitch-result challenge confirmed the call, putting two runners on. The game ended when Yelich grounded into a double play from shortstop to first. Turang was out at second, and Yelich was out at first.

Yuki Matsui earned the win in relief, improving to 6-1. He pitched one inning, allowed one hit and one walk, and struck out one. JoJo Romero took the loss for Milwaukee, falling to 3-4. He worked 1 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on one hit with two strikeouts. Michael King got the save, his first of the season, after two scoreless innings in which he allowed one hit, walked two and struck out one. DL Hall gave Milwaukee 1 1/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief with one strikeout. Abner Uribe pitched a perfect inning. Antonio Senzatela worked a scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout. Milwaukee pitchers combined for 13 strikes, 48 balls and 13 balls in play. San Diego pitchers combined for 10 strikes, 47 balls and 10 balls in play. The Brewers finished with 11 hits, while the Padres had six. Milwaukee’s season record is now 105-60. San Diego’s season record is now 94-73.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Milwaukee 9, San Diego 7. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Milwaukee with a 52 percent probability to win. San Diego had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under line was 6.5, and the game’s combined total was 7.