MILWAUKEE (AP) — This was expected to be the season the Milwaukee Brewers finally took a step back after making the playoffs five times in the last six years in Major League Baseball’s smallest market.
It didn’t happen.
After losing manager Craig Counsell to the rival Chicago Cubs and trading 2021 Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles, the Brewers built the largest lead of any team in the division despite numerous injuries.
Milwaukee has won five games in a row and leads the NL Central by 11 games over the St. Louis Cardinals, who host the Brewers in a three-game series starting Tuesday. Manager Pat Murphy says the Brewers are still “in the thick of the fight.”
“If you go back to your corner and look at the scoreboard, that’s not going to help you, you know what I mean?” Murphy said. “Go to the corner and put your head down. You know what’s going on. You know if you’re taking on water, you’re under pressure or whatever. You know the situation. You don’t have to look over your shoulder and wonder, ‘How many plays?’
“You just have to stay the course. You have to stay in the ring, get some water, wait for the bell, go out there and try to get a point win every round you can.”
Murphy has a chance to win Manager of the Year, an award no Brewers captain has ever won. Murphy was interim manager of the San Diego Padres in 2015, but this is his first full season as manager.
Murphy has been a bench coach on Counsell’s Milwaukee team since 2016, so he knows these players well and makes them feel like they can overcome any setback.
“We’re just going to keep reacting,” second baseman Brice Turang said. “We have good players on our team. We’re just going to keep moving forward, keep being competitive and try to win every pitch and every game we can.”
The Brewers typically outperform preseason projections, but this year they faced more hurdles than usual.
They played the first four months without Devin Williams, the two-time NL Relief Pitcher of the Year, who suffered a stress fracture in his back. The starting lineup that had been Milwaukee’s greatest strength in most of those playoff seasons faced a major problem.
Burnes is gone. Two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff will not pitch this season as he recovers from shoulder surgery. Veteran left-hander Wade Miley made just two appearances and rookie left-hander Robert Gasser made five appearances before both underwent Tommy John surgery.
Milwaukee suffered its latest setback last week when All-Star outfielder Christian Yelich underwent season-ending back surgery.
Yet the Brewers have remained “undaunted,” to use the word Murphy uses as a team slogan. They have a 14-9 record and their division lead has more than doubled since July 23, when Yelich played his last game.
“Because of guys like Yeli, they’ve built a culture there that says, ‘OK, let’s win somehow tonight, whatever we have to do,'” Murphy said. “If this guy doesn’t play or this guy doesn’t do this or this guy makes a mistake or this guy, you know, let’s just keep going, let’s just keep hacking.”
All-Star catcher William Contreras, shortstop Willy Adames and rapidly improving rookie outfielder Jackson Chourio lead a team that ranks 10th in the major leagues in runs scored, up from 17th last season.
With an ERA of 3.66, the Brewers rank second in the major leagues, behind Seattle’s 3.48. According to Sportradar, they have used 17 starting pitchers, tying them with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most pitchers in the major leagues.
Milwaukee has gotten the second-fewest innings from its starters of any MLB team—only Miami has fewer—but a strong bullpen has solved the problem. Eleven Brewers have made one save, compared to just twelve for the Dodgers.
The Brewers signed veterans Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas last month to bolster their rotation, which has also benefited from several players reviving their careers.
Colin Rea pitched in Japan in 2022 after going 8-8 with a 4.90 ERA from 2015 to 2021. He went 17-10 with a 3.67 ERA for Milwaukee over the past two seasons. Tobias Myers, in his sixth organization, has a 6-5 record and a 2.81 ERA as a 26-year-old rookie.
The Brewers’ talent for getting pitchers back into shape was on display Sunday, when Rea, Bryan Hudson and Jared Koenig combined for a two-hitter in a 2-0 win over Cleveland. The Dodgers have designated Hudson as an offseason reliever. Koenig, 30, spent last season in the minors.
“That’s what this whole thing is about,” Murphy said. “You think about a small team, you think about people who were all kicked out, people who were told, ‘You’re not good enough.’ It’s nice to see those people then find an identity or find a way to be successful. It’s a beautiful thing.”
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