Mason Miller Just Set a Padres Record and He's Not Even Close to Done

Mason Miller walked out of the bullpen at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City on Saturday night, and the crowd absolutely lost it. The heavy-metal chords blared, the lights dropped, and out came the hulking reliever to close out the Padres' 6-4 victory over the Diamondbacks in the Mexico City Series. With three scoreless frames, Miller moved past Cla Meredith for the longest scoreless streak in franchise history: 34 2/3 innings. And honestly? He made it look easy.

"Big load off, for sure," Miller said with a wry smile afterward. "I think we can stop talking about it now. Just keep pitching, see how long we can go."

Spoiler alert: We're definitely still going to talk about it.

He's Chasing a Bigger Target Now

Here's where this gets wild. Miller didn't just break a Padres record. He's now eighth all-time among relievers since 1961, sitting just 6 2/3 innings away from passing Baltimore's Gregg Olson for the top spot at 41 innings. The guy recently passed franchise icon Randy Jones for second place. Jones, who passed away last November at 75, was a legend in San Diego. Now Miller is straight-up rewriting the team's history books in real time.

"Passing Randy, getting to talk about him, and ultimately passing Cla, too," Miller reflected. "It's just reflecting back on Padres history. Now I'm a part of that. I think that's pretty awesome."

The Numbers Don't Lie. They Scream.

This season, Miller has struck out 27 of the 44 hitters he's faced. That's a 61.3 percent strikeout rate. Only five batters have even reached base against him: two walks and three singles. His fastball routinely hits 100-plus mph. His slider might be the most unhittable pitch in baseball. He hasn't allowed a run since joining the Padres in a trade with the A's last summer, after giving up a two-run homer to the Diamondbacks' Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in his second outing.

Manny Machado wasn't shocked by any of this. When asked if he saw something special when the Padres acquired Miller, Machado didn't hesitate: "When we traded for him. I don't know about records. But I knew who he is."

The Padres and Diamondbacks wrap up their Mexico City Series with a day game Sunday, but Miller's entrance to Korn's "Blind" hits different at night. And right now, nothing hits harder than what he's doing on the mound.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.