The Brewers didn’t blink Thursday night, even with history sitting right in front of them.
Milwaukee locked up its 100th win of the season - the first triple-digit campaign in franchise history - and clinched the No. 1 seed in the National League playoffs in the same game. But the biggest message from the night came in the eighth inning, when William Contreras was lifted from a tie game after failing to run out a grounder earlier in the contest.
Jackson Chourio came off the bench for Contreras, and after the game manager Pat Murphy made the reasoning clear, as transcribed by Brewers broadcaster Dominic Cotroneo of 620 WTMJ.
"He didn't run the ball out and [Trea Turner] muffed it," Cotroneo wrote. "I didn't know whether he was gonna be safe.
Everyone knows how much William does for our team, how hard he plays, how much he competes. ... But we don't accept that, and he knows that."
Murph confirmed that Contreras is healthy:"He didn't run the ball out and [Turner] muffed it. I didn't know whether he was gonna be safe.
Everyone knows how much William does for our team, how hard he plays, how much he competes... But we don't accept that, and he knows that. https://t.co/BNoW0blGKi
It wasn’t a one-off standard, either. Milwaukee had already shown the same approach in August, when shortstop Cooper Pratt was benched for not running hard out of the box on a ball that dropped in and became a single instead of a double.
That consistency matters because Contreras has been scorching at the plate. Since Aug. 27, he has hit .282/.354/.565 with a .918 OPS, six home runs, 28 RBIs, 11 walks, and six doubles. Even with that production, the Brewers didn’t move off their line.
And Chourio made the decision look pretty good, too. After entering for Contreras, he walked, stole a base, and later launched his 25th home run of the season. Milwaukee stuck to its standard, and in the end, the night broke its way anyway.
In Other News...
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Among the names drawing attention are Andrew Fischer and Blake Burke, part of a group that reflects the kind of depth Milwaukee has spent years trying to build. It is the sort of list that suggests the system is not leaning on just one or two headline prospects, but has real volume and balance throughout the pipeline, which is exactly the kind of development buzz a big-league club wants heading into the offseason. [Read more 🡒]
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The Brewers have seen enough of that versatility to trust him in a spot where every inning can swing the tone of a series. Drohan has made 32 appearances and posted a 4.24 ERA, numbers that show both the learning curve and the value of having a young arm who can cover different roles when the matchup board starts getting thin. For a team building around flexibility, his inclusion is another sign that Milwaukee is willing to lean on a rookie if the situation calls for it. [Read more 🡒]
Garrett Mitchell Has Become A Much Bigger October Factor For Brewers
Garrett Mitchells season has already become the kind the Brewers have been waiting to see from him. In his 142nd game, he passed the total number of games he played across his first four major league seasons combined, a reminder of just how much more available he has been while turning into a real part of Milwaukees lineup. For a club with October ambitions, that kind of everyday presence matters almost as much as the production itself.
Mitchells breakthrough has also come with the quiet work behind the scenes that has allowed him to stay on the field, as he has managed Type 1 diabetes with help from the Brewers performance dietician. For Milwaukee, the appeal is bigger than a strong regular season run. Mitchell is now viewed as a key player if this team is going to keep playing deep into October, and the Brewers have every reason to believe his role can grow even more from here. [Read more 🡒]