Padres crush Brewers behind Luis Rengifo grand slam, Walker Buehler gem
Credit: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Brewers decided Luis Rengifo wasn’t worth keeping around less than two months ago.
The San Diego Padres are probably pretty happy with the decision.
Rengifo haunted his former club Tuesday night, launching a grand slam as the Padres erupted offensively in an 11-2 victory over the Brewers at Petco Park. San Diego picked up a series win against the team with the best record in baseball while continuing its recent surge toward an NL Wild Card spot.
Rengifo deserves plenty of credit for the victory, but starting pitcher Walker Buehler might have been even more impressive.
The veteran right-hander delivered arguably his best start since joining the Padres, throwing six innings of one-run baseball. Buehler allowed only three hits, walked two and struck out five across 98 pitches against one of MLB’s premier lineups.
San Diego gave him plenty of breathing room early. Jake Cronenworth opened the scoring with an RBI double down the left-field line in the second inning. After Fernando Tatis Jr. walked two batters later, Rengifo delivered the knockout blow with a grand slam off Brewers starter Kyle Harrison to make it 5-0.
The Brewers cut Luis Rengifo a month and a half ago. Since joining the Padres, he’s hitting .321 with an .880 OPS — and this grand slam against his former club. pic.twitter.com/TfpJsCY3rX
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) August 12, 2026
Talk about revenge. Milwaukee cut Rengifo roughly a month and a half ago. He’s since emerged as one of San Diego’s most important players during its late-summer playoff push.
“The vibe we have is just to continue to stay together,” Rengifo said postgame. We want to win every game.”
“I’ve never had a chance to hit a grand slam before; this was my first opportunity. Just want to thank god. I’m glad I was able to help the team and get a W.”
The Brewers finally broke through against Buehler in the third inning when Jackson Chourio brought home a run on a fielder’s choice.
That didn’t slow down the Padres. Tatis Jr. blasted a solo home run in the fourth, continuing his recent power surge. It was his fourth homer since Aug. 5 and gave him 12 on the season while raising his average to .281.
Nando doing what Nando does. pic.twitter.com/TPjq1ZKPdY
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 12, 2026
Luis Campusano joined the party one inning later with a two-run homer off Harrison, pushing the lead to 8-1.
Gone Camping ⛺️ pic.twitter.com/f4GtTzeeU4
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 12, 2026
Harrison’s night couldn’t have gone much worse. The former Giants left-hander surrendered 10 hits, eight earned runs and three homers while walking three and striking out only three across 4 2/3 innings. San Diego’s familiarity with Harrison may have helped, as Tatis, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts all entered the night having homered against him previously.
Buehler’s biggest test came in the sixth. Milwaukee put two runners aboard, but Craig Stammen trusted his starter to escape the trouble. Buehler rewarded him by finishing the inning without allowing another run.
Then the Padres piled on. Jackson Merrill doubled home Machado in the bottom of the sixth before Austin Hays drove in another run on a groundout. Campusano followed with an RBI single, giving San Diego an 11-1 advantage.
At that point, Stammen could afford to start emptying his bench. Sung-Mun Song replaced Machado, Gavin Sheets took over for Tatis in right field, and Jase Bowen entered for Merrill in center. The Padres had already collected 14 hits through six innings.
Gary Sanchez would pitch the 8th inning for Milwaukee as Murphy waved the white flag, though they did score one run in the 9th off Griffin Canning.
San Diego just dominated the best team in baseball to win the series and continued looking like one of the hottest teams in the National League. Even more importantly, the Padres are now tied with the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL Wild Card spot following their losses on Tuesday night.
A playoff spot that once looked increasingly difficult to reach is suddenly right there.
San Diego (64-57) will go for the series sweep on Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 pm. Dustin May starts for the Brew Crew while Robbie Ray toes the slab for the Friars. The last time May started against San Diego was when he was a St. Louis Cardinal, and he tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just one hit at Petco Park in mid-June.
News & Stats
- Tatis is now second all-time behind Machado (217) in home runs as a Padre with 164
- Machado and Campusano each ended with 3 hits
- Rengifo had 2 against his former squad
- Hays had two hits in his first Padres start
- Every Padres starter had at least one hit
- San Diego had 17 hits, Milwaukee just 7
- Buehler earned win No. 6
Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.