MILWAUKEE, Wis. — When comparing the Milwaukee Brewers 2026 regular season to last year, it can feel like there haven’t been as many headline-catching stories.
2025 included several extended winning streaks, including a 14-gamer that earned fans free George Webb burgers, as well as the loss of iconic broadcaster Bob Uecker.
But while manager Pat Murphy may say to leave storyline construction to the media, he does believe there is an overarching theme to the 2026 campaign:
Trust.
“That’s ​a ​good ​feeling ​to ​trust ​​the ​people, ​especially ​for ​a ​guy ​that ​tries ​to ​look ​at ​every ​deficiency ​we ​have. ​And ​I ​just ended ​up ​trusting them,” said Murphy during media availability October 2.
Winning a franchise-record 103 games goes a long way towards building trust in the team that will face the San Diego Padres in the National League Divisional Series, the one team that was perhaps as hot as the Brewers over the final month of the regular season. Both teams had identical 18-6 records during September, though the Padres tacked on two extra in their sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series.
“They’re ​rolling,” admits Murphy about his squad’s NLDS foe. ​”But ​that’s ​what ​you’re ​going ​to ​face ​at ​this ​time ​of ​year. ​If ​you’re ​not ​interested ​in ​that ​then, ​​you ​know, ​play ​in ​the [National Invitational Tournament].”
The opener October 3 will include placing trust in starter Jacob Misiorowski to replicate his regular season success in the postseason. The starting pitching battle between Misiorowski, largely believed to be the runaway favorite for NL Cy Young, and San Diego’s trade deadline acquisition Robbie Ray could make for the most interesting Game 1 matchup.
Misiorowski says he feels great physically going into action in Game 1, with his scheduled start coming off a similar period of rest to a week in the regular season.
“There’s nothing that changed through the last game of the year,” said Misiorowski. “I think this team’s ready. I think they’re ready to go…It will be good.”
The 35-year-old southpaw Ray accumulated a 13-8 regular season record between both the Padres and San Francisco Giants, and will present an intriguing contrast to Misiorowski’s 100-plus miles per hour fastball with his own that averages in the low 90’s but comes with extra backspin from his over-the-top arm angle delivery.
“I think everything gets magnified,” said Ray when asked about what he enjoys most about pitching in high-pressure games. “The stadium, the atmosphere, the fans, everything. It’s postseason baseball. Everything is different.”
Outside of Misiorowski, the remainder of the Brewers’ postseason roster is still being ironed out. General Manager and President of Baseball Operations Matt Arnold declined to say whether fellow starters Dustin May or Kyle Harrison would be in the postseason rotation. Harrison in particular had some difficult outings in the second half of the season, but Arnold says the 25-year-old gave the front office optimism after his four strikeout outing in a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals September 26.
“I think we’ve seen in the last couple of outings some really good stuff, maybe not the best results at times. But honestly, I think some really encouraging signs from him for sure,” said Arnold.
Murphy told reporters infielder Joey Ortiz should be good to go for the opener; the 28-year-old has been dealing with knee and abdominal issues down the stretch.
“He still has some pain, and he’s going to tell you ‘no’ and all that kind of stuff. But he wants to play very badly,” says Murphy.
Trust will also be placed on the roster from top to bottom to utilize lessons learned from the 2025 National League Championship Series in which the Brewers were swept by the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers. While the core group of Brewers from that playoff roster will be back this October, it is also one of the youngest in baseball at an average age of 27.4 years old. In contrast, the Padres are the fifth-oldest in MLB at 29.5 years old.
Murphy believes youth can prove valuable even when the pressure is at its highest in the postseason.
“I think youth helps us because these guys are forging their mindsets and creating their approach to the game,” says Murphy. “I think that’s been a key more than people know to have those young, hungry players.”
No matter the length of the Brewers’ 2026 postseason, you can trust that each and every game will be heard on 620WTMJ.
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