The Brewers walked into San Diego and spent four games proving a simple point: they don’t have to be perfect to keep moving.
That was the biggest contrast with last year’s NLCS, when Milwaukee got swept by the Dodgers after a franchise-best regular season and an emotional win over the Cubs in the NLDS. Jake Bauers said the difference this time starts with belief.
"When I think back to last year, I think there was an element of maybe a little bit of lack of belief that we could do it, maybe a little too much doubt," Bauers said. "I think going into this postseason, there's a different feeling around the team."
He said the Brewers have leaned into what carried them all year.
"I think we've built a really good team, a really good culture, and I think we believe in each other," he said. "I think we all know that whether one person doesn't get it done, there's someone right behind them that's going to be ready to pick them up. And that's something that we've done all year, and I think that's only added to the confidence."
That showed up in a tense NLDS against the Padres, where plenty went sideways for Milwaukee. Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson weren’t at their sharpest.
The infield defense wobbled. The Brewers did square up more balls than San Diego - 45% hard contact to the Padres’ 30% - but too many well-hit outs kept them from creating more breathing room.
Still, the Brewers kept doing the two things that mattered most: pitching and discipline. Milwaukee’s staff finished the series with a 1.80 ERA and 3.47 FIP, good enough to outlast San Diego’s vaunted bullpen. At the plate, the Brewers chased just 26% of pitches outside the zone and swung at 63% of pitches in the zone, a touch better than their regular-season numbers.
Game 4 was the cleanest snapshot of that formula. The Padres kept pressing, but Milwaukee kept bending without breaking.
Robert Gasser, making his first career postseason start, was tested right away. Jackson Merrill opened the bottom of the first with a bloop single, Manny Machado bunted for a hit, and then Joey Ortiz’s cautious play on a grounder to third prevented what should have been an inning-ending double play. That hesitation left Gasser with bases loaded after he walked Austin Hays.
He escaped it anyway. Gasser got ahead of Xander Bogaerts and ended the inning with a pop-up on a 0-2 sweeper. He went on to throw four innings of one-run ball, giving Milwaukee exactly what it needed and sparing the higher-variance relievers from being dragged into the middle innings.
The Brewers had their own chances against Walker Buehler, and they didn’t waste the process even when the results lagged. Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich both hit hard grounders in a scoreless first.
In the third, Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell opened with back-to-back singles, but Ortiz hit a 108-MPH ground ball right at Bogaerts for a double play. A few minutes later, Fernando Tatis Jr. tied it with a homer, and Frelick followed with a 100-MPH grounder up the middle that also found a shaded Bogaerts in another empty opportunity.
Milwaukee stayed with the plan. Mitchell led off the fifth with a triple, and Chourio followed by punching a Bradgley Rodriguez sinker into center to bring him home with the go-ahead run. Frelick added a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
The defense tightened back up after that. Pratt, who had committed his third error of the series an inning earlier, made a diving stop to rob Tatis of a single in the fifth, helping Aaron Ashby through one of his three scoreless innings.
In the eighth, Abner Uribe nearly coughed up the lead on a deep drive from Machado, but Garrett Mitchell reached over the short wall in center to take it back for the second out. Brice Turang then called off Jake Bauers to make an inning-ending catch in foul territory.
Trevor Megill handled the ninth with a perfect inning.
The Padres made Milwaukee earn almost everything, but the Brewers never looked rattled. That matters heading into an NLCS rematch with the Dodgers, especially with three days off to reset after finishing the series in four games. Last year, they had only one day off after beating the Cubs.
When Megill struck out Gavin Sheets to finish it, the Brewers lined up and shook hands in a subdued celebration that looked more like the end of a regular-season game than the end of a postseason series. That said plenty on its own.
The standards have changed. The expectations have changed.
Milwaukee still has work ahead if it wants its first World Series trip since 1982, but this team keeps showing signs that it carries itself differently than the ones that came up short before it.
In Other News...
William Contreras Just Put Brewers Fans On Notice About His Future
William Contreras has been at the center of Milwaukees NLDS push against the Padres, giving the Brewers the kind of middle-order production that can change a short series in a hurry. He delivered important home runs in Games 1 and 3, a reminder of just how much value he has brought since arriving in Milwaukee in 2022, when he quickly established himself as one of the clubs most durable everyday players with more than 140 games played each season.
For a Brewers team that has leaned on him heavily, the longer-view conversation now matters almost as much as the October at-bats. Contreras said in an interview that he will be a free agent after the 2027 season unless he signs an extension, and he acknowledged some uncertainty about whether his future will remain in Milwaukee. For a fan base that has grown used to seeing him in the lineup and in the middle of big moments, it is the kind of update that keeps the attention on what he does now while quietly raising the question of what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Murphys Live Playoff Reaction Captured Brewers Fans Frustration
Pat Murphy was in the middle of a live interview during Game 3 of the NLDS when the moment every Brewers fan dreaded came flying into view. Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill slid to make a catch on Sal Frelicks drive, turning what looked like a loud extra-base hit into an abrupt defensive standout and stopping Murphy cold in real time.
For Milwaukee, it was the kind of play that summed up an inning, a game and maybe a series, all at once. The Brewers still had a chance to finish the sweep, but San Diego held on for a 4-3 win, and Murphys interrupted reaction only underscored how quickly the night swung away from Milwaukee. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Murphy's Game 4 Pitching Choice Could Decide The Brewers' Season
After dropping the first three games of the National League Division Series, the Brewers are staring at a Game 4 decision that could shape the tone of the rest of their October. Pat Murphy has not announced a starter yet, and the question around who gets the ball has become one of the most important calls left on Milwaukees board.
Robert Gasser and Chad Patrick are both in the mix, with Kyle Harrisons role still unclear after some uneven recent work. Gasser has trended up lately, while Patrick has been mostly effective aside from one rough outing late in the season, giving Murphy a pair of very different options as he tries to keep Milwaukee alive. [Read more 🡒]