Pat Murphy Reflects on NLCS Loss: “It Hurts, Because You’re That Close to Doing Something Special”
There’s no easy way to process a season-ending sweep-especially when your team had the best record in baseball and a 6-0 regular-season edge over the very team that sent you packing. That’s the position Brewers manager Pat Murphy finds himself in, still grappling with the sting of a National League Championship Series loss to the Dodgers that ended Milwaukee’s dream season.
Murphy recently opened up about the playoff heartbreak, and he didn’t sugarcoat the experience.
“Everything they did was effective,” Murphy said of the Dodgers. “They pitched unbelievably, and we didn’t do anything well.
We didn’t sneak up on them; they knew us, and they knew they had their hands full if they didn’t play well. The timing of all that worked, coming off an emotional series.
It hurts, because you’re that close to doing something really special.”
That raw honesty speaks volumes. The Brewers weren’t just another playoff team-they were a 100-win juggernaut that had handled the Dodgers with ease during the regular season.
But October baseball isn’t about regular-season dominance. It’s about who can rise to the moment when the lights are brightest.
And in this case, the Dodgers were the ones who answered the call.
Were the Brewers Outmatched, or Just Out of Gas?
Milwaukee came into the NLCS riding high, but Murphy acknowledged something felt off once the series began. The Brewers had just come through a draining series against the Cubs, one that clearly took an emotional toll. With only a single day off before facing a rested and ready Dodgers squad, Murphy sensed the energy wasn’t quite there.
“I felt that we did not put our best foot forward in that series,” Murphy said. “And I think it would have made some difference, but the Dodgers were on it. And you know when a team is on it.”
That’s a fair assessment. The Dodgers didn’t just win-they imposed their will.
Their starting pitching was surgical, their offense relentless, and their game plan airtight. From top to bottom, they looked like a team on a mission.
Murphy pointed to the quick turnaround from the Cubs series as a factor, though he stopped short of using it as an excuse.
“I think the Cubs series just emotionally took so much out of them, and then to have to come back [after one day off] and play [the Dodgers] was difficult on the guys. But that’s another learning situation for us, so here we go.”
The Ohtani Game: A Performance for the Ages
If there was a single moment that defined the series-and maybe the entire postseason-it was Game 4. Shohei Ohtani delivered a performance that felt more like a video game simulation than real life.
Three home runs at the plate. Six shutout innings on the mound.
Ten strikeouts. One unforgettable night.
It wasn’t just dominance. It was history.
There was nothing the Brewers could do. Ohtani was in complete control from the first pitch to his final at-bat. It was the kind of game that cements legacies, and for Murphy and his club, it was a front-row seat to one of the most dominant playoff performances the sport has ever seen.
Ohtani was named NLCS MVP for his efforts and later added another World Series title to his growing collection. But for the Brewers, Game 4 was the exclamation point on a series that slipped away too fast and too painfully.
What’s Next for Milwaukee?
Despite the sting, Murphy isn’t dwelling in defeat. He’s using it as fuel.
This is a team that proved it can hang with the best-just not when it mattered most. The challenge now is to turn that pain into progress.
“It’s just … it’s what we do. Consistently, how can we figure it out?”
Murphy said. “And then we end up in these situations, and hopefully we’re playing our best where things are going great for us at that time and we don’t run into that type of buzz saw like we did.”
The Brewers will be back. They’ve got the roster, the leadership, and now, the hard-earned lessons of October.
But as Murphy made clear, getting close isn’t good enough. Not when greatness is within reach.