The Milwaukee Brewers keep finding answers, and now they’re taking a 2-0 series lead into Dodger Stadium with a shot at their first World Series trip since 1982.
That’s the headline. The other one is the company they’ve already beaten: back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and according to OptaSTATS, the Brewers became the first team since the 2002 St.
Louis Cardinals to beat a reigning Cy Young Award winner and a World Series MVP in consecutive games, regular season or postseason. In this case, that meant Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Pat Murphy isn’t treating any of it like a fluke. He likes what he sees in his club, and he made that clear when he told Zach Heilprin of 96.7 FM & 1670 AM The Zone Madison, "They're hungry, that's the big difference," Brewers manager Pat Murphy told Zach Heilprin of 96.7 FM & 1670 AM The Zone Madison.
"This year, they don't want to be denied. They are going against arguably one of the best teams in baseball ever put together.
And they don’t care."
That attitude looks a lot different from a year ago, when Murphy watched his team run into a juggernaut after posting 97 wins. Milwaukee dropped the first two games of the NLCS at home and never got itself back into the fight.
This time, the Brewers are the ones with the cushion. They still have work to do, and Murphy knows it, but the path is right there: two more wins, and they’re back in the World Series for the first time since 1982.
William Contreras was central to making that lead possible. He put together one of his strongest performances in a Brewers uniform and became only the fourth player in MLB postseason history with three hits that either tied the game or put his team ahead. The others: Sandy Alomar Jr., George Brett and Steve Garvey.
Murphy didn’t hold back when talking about Contreras on MLB Network’s coverage of his postgame presser. "You watch him compete every night, you watch him go about his business, there's nobody that wants it more," said Pat Murphy on MLB Network's coverage of his postgame presser.
"This kid wants it. He doesn't believe in days off.
He doesn't believe in being injured. He wants to excel.
"It's not enough to make the All-Star team. He wants to excel, he wants it all."
Contreras’ sixth-inning single gave Milwaukee the lead for good, and from there the bullpen took over. That’s been a theme all postseason, and it held again here.
Murphy also got another sharp game from David Hamilton, who he started at third base in Game 2 despite Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s reverse platoon splits over his career. Hamilton answered by reaching base three times, stealing two bases, forcing a throwing error on a pickoff attempt and scoring the three runs that swung the game.
"Sometimes that stuff affects the pitcher and affects the balance of the game, that [steal] threat we talk about, so he didn't have to steal a base," Murphy told Brewer Fanatic's Jack Stern. "He made a good read. That's all those little things in baserunning that make a difference."
Then came the bullpen, which has been nearly untouchable with a 0.38 ERA in the postseason. Murphy turned again to Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby late, and the pair handled the final nine outs to seal another win and cap a record-breaking night for the Brewers’ relief corps.
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Brice Turang Gave The Brewers Exactly What This NLCS Opener Needed
The NLCS opener had the feel Milwaukee needed from the start: tight pitching, clean defense, and a crowd that kept leaning into every small break. Brice Turang was in the middle of all of it, helping the Brewers stay attached in a game where run prevention mattered almost as much as run scoring, and where one sharp play or one well-timed swing could change the entire mood.
Turang supplied both. His defense helped Milwaukee navigate an early jam and keep the deficit from growing, then he came through with the kind of home run that can tilt a playoff game and settle a dugout. With the bullpen backing him up and the atmosphere building around him, the Brewers had exactly the sort of jolt they were hoping for in a series opener like this, even if the full impact of that night was still left to be decided. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Won Their Way But One NLCS Concern Just Got Bigger
The Brewers opened the National League Championship Series with exactly the kind of tense, low-scoring win they needed, slipping past the Dodgers 2-1 in Game 1. Jacob Misiorowski did not have his cleanest night, but Milwaukees bullpen picked up the slack with 4 2/3 scoreless innings, and the defense helped steady everything with three double plays as the Brewers kept the game from getting away.
Misiorowskis fastball was not fooling enough hitters, and the shortened outing only sharpens the attention on how Milwaukee will handle the rest of this series. The Brewers won the opener anyway, which is the important part, but against a lineup like Los Angeles, they will need more than run prevention and clean gloves if the concern around their young starter grows into a bigger issue. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Murphy Sounds All In On Jackson Chourios October Moment
As the Brewers turn their attention to the Dodgers, Pat Murphy made it clear that Jackson Chourio has been one of the defining reasons Milwaukee has been able to keep its October run alive. The left fielder has stood out for the kind of all-around impact that matters most this time of year, with Murphy pointing to his steady defense, consistent approach and knack for coming through when the pressure rises.
Chourio has also given Milwaukee needed production at the plate in the postseason, becoming a central part of the offense in key moments. His work so far has already changed the feel of the Brewers October, and with a matchup like this one looming, the attention on what he can do next only figures to grow. [Read more 🡒]