With Milwaukee now headed to the World Series for the first time since 1982, Aaron Ashby has become one of the defining reasons this run keeps rolling. Every scoreless outing he strings together out of the bullpen pushes the Brewers a little deeper into territory they haven’t seen in decades, and the left-hander has taken on the role of Pat Murphy’s most trustworthy arm.
Ashby’s latest statement came in the National League Championship Series clincher at Dodger Stadium, where he fired three scoreless innings to help dispatch the back-to-back defending champions. That performance made him the fifth player ever to record a three-plus-inning save in a series clincher since saves became an official stat in 1969. He also logged three scoreless innings in Game 4 of the NLDS as Milwaukee got past the Padres.
That kind of workload puts Ashby in rare company. In this World Series, he’ll try to become just the second pitcher ever - after former Giants longman Yusmeiro Petit in 2014 - with three separate outings of at least three innings and no runs allowed in a single postseason. He’s already one of only six relievers to throw at least 10 scoreless innings across his first six appearances in one postseason, a list that includes Goose Gossage, one of the most iconic firemen in baseball history.
Gossage’s name comes up for a reason. He was the prototype for the kind of multi-inning weapon teams leaned on before the modern bullpen got so rigid, and his postseason résumé is built on those long relief stints. He pitched more than three outs in 12 of his 19 career playoff appearances, including three times in the 1981 ALDS against the Brewers, when he tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and finished the series with two spotless frames in Game 5.
Andrew Miller belongs in the same conversation, too. His 2016 postseason with Cleveland reintroduced the idea of using a top reliever anywhere, any time, and his usage drew comparisons to Gossage, Sutter and the old-school firemen of the ’70s and ’80s. Miller threw at least four outs in all 10 of his relief appearances that October, the most such outings in a single postseason in baseball history, and he did it with no regard for inning or traditional roles.
Ashby’s first six postseason outings this year look a lot like Miller’s first six in 2016. Both pitchers allowed seven baserunners over that stretch. Cleveland went 6-0 during Miller’s first six appearances in that run; Milwaukee is unbeaten this postseason when Ashby takes the mound.
"I guess that's what happens when a starter converts to a reliever, right?" Brewers closer Trevor Megill said after Milwaukee's Game 4 triumph. "They go a long way."
That path is exactly where Ashby came from. He was developed as a starter in the minors and reached the majors in 2021 as one of Milwaukee’s next big pitching prospects, following Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff.
Left shoulder surgery wiped out his 2023 season, and much of 2024 was spent in Triple-A as he worked to get his velocity back. When the Brewers brought him up in August 2024, he returned as a reliever and has stayed there.
Since the start of the 2025 season, Ashby has made 118 regular-season appearances, with only two starts. He has piled up 156 innings in that span, which ranks eighth among primary relievers. This season, he went more than three outs in 23 of 75 appearances, and he kept the opposition off the board in 16 of those 23 outings.
The stuff is doing the heavy lifting. Ashby’s two-seam fastball sits at 97.7 mph, which is four full ticks above the average sinker from a left-handed pitcher and the fifth fastest by a left-hander in 2026 among those with at least 100 sinkers thrown. He uses that pitch 52% of the time, but the curveball might be the pitch that defines him.
That curveball drops 7.8 inches more than similar pitches with comparable release point and velocity. It also comes in hard at 83.9 mph, giving hitters less time to react while still carrying huge bite. Among qualified curveballs, only Tyler Glasnow generates a higher swing-and-miss rate than Ashby.
He also has a changeup that keeps hitters honest. Through six postseason appearances, Ashby has thrown it 17.0% of the time, his highest monthly usage rate since becoming a full-time reliever in 2024. It comes in at 91.9 mph and mirrors the two-seamer out of his hand, which helps sell the deception.
And he’s not just a two-pitch arm. Ashby has held onto a four-pitch mix from his starting days, with a slider that he almost exclusively uses against left-handed hitters. Like the curveball, the slider has serious late movement, and in the regular season all three of his non-fastball pitches produced whiff rates above 50%: the curveball at 50.9%, the changeup at 50.9% and the slider at 57.5%.
That blend has turned Ashby into a modern version of an old baseball archetype: a reliever who can come in early, stay late and cover whatever the moment requires. For the Brewers, it’s been a perfect fit.
In Other News...
Brewers Just Got A World Series Break They Desperately Needed
After sweeping the Dodgers to clinch a spot in the World Series for the first time in 44 years, Milwaukee can finally exhale for a moment. This has been a season built on pitching depth and relentless run prevention, with Jacob Misiorowski giving the staff an edge even if he has not been asked to go deep in October games.
The bigger benefit now may come from the calendar. A few extra days before the World Series should help a bullpen that has carried a heavy workload through the playoffs, with Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill all taking on a lot of responsibility along the way. For a team that has leaned so hard on its arms, the pause could be just as valuable as any on-field adjustment. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Fans Have A Familiar Reason To Watch Milwaukee Now
Andrew Vaughns move from the White Sox to the Brewers has turned into the kind of second act both sides can file away for different reasons. Milwaukee gave him a fresh start last season, and he has settled in with better on-base production and more consistent overall value since the trade, the sort of steady improvement that makes a lineup look deeper and a front office feel better about the deal.
For White Sox fans, the familiarity only goes so far from here. Chicago now has Munetaka Murakami at first base, and the club is not expected to chase Vaughn once he reaches free agency, so the path back never really looks like its opening. In the meantime, his progress in Milwaukee stands as another reminder that a change of scenery can matter just as much as raw talent. [Read more 🡒]
William Contreras Is Giving Brewers A Playoff Edge Few Fans Noticed
William Contreras has quietly become one of the most interesting postseason players in Milwaukee, and not just because he has been behind the plate for every inning of the Brewers 2026 playoff run. The Brewers catcher has leaned hard into the ABS challenge system, staying engaged on nearly every pitch and helping shape games in a way most fans may not have fully noticed while following the bigger swings in the box score.
His impact has shown up in a few different ways. Contreras has already thrown out two base-stealers and allowed only two stolen bases across eight playoff games, but the more unusual edge has come from his work on ball-strike calls, where he has generated the most run value among postseason catchers. Milwaukees trust in him has paid off deep into October, and his NLCS work only added to the sense that the Brewers have found another layer of value from their everyday backstop. [Read more 🡒]