When a baseball game against this edition of the San Diego Padres reaches the ninth inning with the Friars in the lead, it usually means lights out.
Mason Miller trots in from the bullpen to reprise his role as the most dominant closer in baseball. His triple-digit fastball and wipeout slider are hardly ever touched. Opposing teams don’t come back when Miller is on the mound.
Except, well, Miller’s last couple outings have been quite un-Miller-like.
Miller blew a save his last time out, giving up a game-tying two-run homer against the Tampa Bay Rays.
His prior outing, he came in for a scoreless game and gave up the home run that won the game 1-0 for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This is all notable heading into the weekend because the New York Yankees have a rare three-game series against the Padres.
The Yanks get the good fortune of not seeing Miller very often. But if they see him this weekend, it’ll be with Miller trying to put together a bounceback outing, something he doesn’t need much.
This Hasn’t Happened in 2026
Miller’s last two outings are unlike anything he has done all season.
It’s the first time that he has allowed runs in consecutive appearances.
Before this, his runs allowed were comically spaced out.
Miller didn’t allow a run until April 27, when he gave up two in a non-save situation against the Chicago Cubs.
He then didn’t allow an earned run in May, giving up just an unearned run on July 19 to the Dodgers.
On June 5, Miller gave up one run while pitching with a deficit against the Mets, again a non-save situation.
Miller gave up another unearned run against the Rangers on June 20 but finished off the save despite that.
On July 4, Miller gave up one run while pitching from behind against the Dodgers.
Then on August 8, he gave up a run while still holding on to get the save against the Astros.
And then his last two outings, August 25 and August 30, one run and then two runs.
Amazingly, those were also the first two home runs Miller had given up all season.
There’s a Catch
There’s one thing to note about all this: Miller shouldn’t have blown the save at all against the Rays.
Pitching with a 3-1 lead, two outs and a man on base, Miller gave up a fly ball to left field that landed in his left fielder’s glove on the warning track.
Somehow, though, the left fielder ran into the wall at just the correct angle to jar the ball loose from his glove and knock it over the wall.
Instead of an out, a ball that didn’t reach the fence turned into a game-tying, two-run homer.
There’s nothing Miller could’ve done about that, and it makes things look a little worse than they are.
If the Yankees see Miller this weekend, though, they’ll have to hope that good luck is still on the side of the batters facing him. Usually, it’s not, and this recent run may just be an aberration.
The best advice to the Yankees? Don’t be behind late in a game to the Padres.
Yankees Meet Mason Miller at Ironically Good Time