The Brewers have already punched their ticket to the NLDS, and now the final five games of the regular season are about something a little different: managing arms, preserving the bullpen, and making sure the group is lined up for October 3.
That shift was on display Tuesday night against the Phillies. Rather than chase the game with his “A bullpen,” Pat Murphy handed the ball to left-hander Colton Gordon, who was making his team debut, and asked him to soak up the final five innings. Gordon was sharp through four, keeping Philadelphia hitless, but the fifth inning got away from him and he allowed three runs in what became a Brewers loss.
Even with the late damage, the outing served its purpose. Gordon gave Milwaukee’s expected postseason relievers another day to rest, and that’s the bigger picture now.
With a first-round bye already secured thanks to the Reds’ win over the Braves, the Brewers will skip the Wild Card Series for the second straight year. They still have a shot at the No. 1 overall seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason, but the workload plan matters just as much.
That’s why Milwaukee made another move on Wednesday, optioning Gordon to Triple-A and bringing up right-hander Lyon Richardson to take his place in the bullpen.
Richardson, 26, joined the Brewers on a minor league deal in early June after being designated for assignment by the Reds, the organization he had spent the first eight years of his pro career with. He already has one appearance for Milwaukee this season, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings against the Padres on August 10 before being designated for assignment himself. After clearing waivers and electing free agency, he returned to the Brewers on another minor league deal.
His major league résumé remains thin, though he did appear in 34 games out of Cincinnati’s bullpen last year and finished with a 4.54 ERA. This season at Triple-A Nashville, he logged 44.2 innings with a 4.23 ERA and 45 strikeouts.
For Milwaukee, Richardson’s job should look a lot like Gordon’s did on Tuesday: cover innings when the high-leverage relievers have already done their tune-up work. It’s the kind of late-season shuffle that can fly under the radar, but it’s exactly the sort of roster churn Pat Murphy is leaning on to keep the Brewers fresh and ready for the postseason push.
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Hendersons run has been the kind that matters when October starts to come into focus. He has set a rookie mark for the lowest WHIP among pitchers with at least 15 starts and matched a streak of consecutive outings in which he allowed three runs or fewer, giving Milwaukee even more depth at a time when the club has already clinched a first-round playoff bye and is closing in on a franchise first 100-win season. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Have A New Reason To Watch Chicago's October Slide
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From Milwaukees standpoint, the timing is hard to ignore. The Cubs have slipped out of the top Wild Card spot while trying to navigate the stretch without one of their most important lineup pieces, and the standings pressure only grows from here. If Bregman remains out, Chicago has to keep juggling both its roster and its place in the postseason race, which is exactly the kind of October stress the Brewers will be watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Are One Win From A Milestone Fans Have Never Seen
The Brewers keep piling up wins in a season that already feels different from the usual late-September script. Milwaukees 4-1 victory over the Phillies pushed the club to 99 wins, with Brice Turang and Christian Yelich providing the power and Logan Henderson doing his part on the mound in a steady five-inning outing that helped keep the Phillies in check.
Aaron Nola lasted six innings but gave up four runs, and the loss left Milwaukee sitting one win away from a milestone the franchise has never reached. For a team that has spent the summer winning in a lot of different ways, the final stretch now carries a little extra weight, with the next victory standing to mean more than just another mark in the standings. [Read more 🡒]