The Milwaukee Brewers are back in October again, and they didn’t just punch their ticket - they slammed it shut with authority.
Friday’s 20-0 demolition of the Cincinnati Reds gave Milwaukee the National League’s first postseason berth of the year, and it came with a little extra flair: the Brewers’ first grand slam of the season. It also pushed the club to the brink of a fourth straight National League Central title, with a 10-game lead over the Chicago Cubs and only 14 games left to play.
This is becoming familiar territory in Milwaukee. The Brewers are headed to the postseason for the eighth time in the last nine seasons, and they’ve done it while owning the sport’s best record. That kind of steady excellence has defined the franchise in a small market and on a 19th-ranked payroll, yet the results keep coming anyway.
The bigger picture is just as impressive. Milwaukee hasn’t finished a full season below .500 in 10 years, and even with top team leadership leaving for rival clubs in recent years, the Brewers have kept their grip on the division.
What’s still been missing is a long postseason run. Under third-year manager Pat Murphy, Milwaukee finally broke through last season by winning the NLDS over the Cubs, only to be swept in four games by the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Before that, the Brewers had lost five straight playoff series, a frustrating stretch that kept them from turning regular-season strength into something bigger.
This year’s team looks built to keep rolling. Milwaukee ranks fourth in baseball with a .745 OPS and also sits fourth in stolen bases, giving it plenty of speed and pressure on the bases.
On the mound, the Brewers are second in ERA, fueled by young ace Jacob Misiorowski, whose 236 strikeouts lead all of baseball. Their bullpen has been even sharper than the rotation, with a 3.44 reliever ERA compared to a 3.53 starter ERA.
And they’ve backed it up in the field, ranking seventh with 41 defensive runs saved.
The playoff chase itself has never really been a question. Milwaukee has been at or above .500 all season, and once it moved into first place on May 19, it stayed there.
In Other News...
Brewers Are Doing It Again And MLB Didn't See This Coming
Jacob Misiorowski has been part of a Brewers run that looks a lot like the kind of summer Milwaukee has made into a habit, only this time the surprise is landing against the backdrop of preseason projections that did not fully account for how quickly this group could outperform expectations. FanGraphs had a picture of the 2026 season in mind before opening day, but the Brewers have spent the year pushing past it, with Misiorowskis pitching becoming one of the clearest reasons why.
Around the league, the same projection board is showing a few clubs going in the wrong direction, including Seattle, where Julio Rodrguezs underperformance has been part of a broader disappointment. Milwaukee, though, is on the other side of that ledger, and the longer the Brewers keep stacking wins like this, the harder it becomes to treat their rise as a temporary early-season blip. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Suddenly Have A Kyle Harrison Problem Before The Playoffs
Kyle Harrisons season has taken an abrupt turn at just the wrong time for the Brewers, who had counted on a strong start to get more out of the left-hander down the stretch. Instead, his recent struggles have pushed him out of the rotation and into the bullpen, a move that speaks to both his early promise and the urgency Milwaukee feels with October approaching.
His first outing in relief hardly eased those concerns. Harrison was tagged for four earned runs without recording an out, a rough debut in a new role that only sharpened the spotlight on his adjustment. Pat Murphy has acknowledged the issues, but the Brewers are still banking on Harrison finding something before the playoffs, because they will need more than just hope from a pitcher who once looked like a useful part of their postseason plans. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Suddenly Have A Shane Drohan Problem They Need To Figure Out
Shane Drohans recent outing against the Reds left the Brewers with one more bullpen question to monitor as October approaches. Milwaukee won the game 13-9, but Drohan was tagged for five runs over 3 2/3 innings, a rough enough night to draw a comment from manager Pat Murphy about whether the long season might be catching up to the left-hander physically.
Drohan, though, pushed back on the idea that his body is the issue and said he feels physically good, pointing instead to execution on the mound. That leaves Milwaukee trying to sort out whether his recent struggles are a workload concern or simply a command problem, a relevant distinction for a bullpen that has had its share of hiccups even after the club clinched a postseason berth. [Read more 🡒]