MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy made sure early on in the postseason to dispose of any lingering underdog label attached to his team.
Still, the specter of a 2025 National League Championship Series loss in four games to the Los Angeles Dodgers lingers as the two teams prepare to meet for the third time in nine years with the NL pennant on the line.
But this Brewers team, says Murphy, will be undettered by any memories of the past.
“We’ve got a goal in mind. We’re on a mission. I’m sure they feel the same way,” Murphy told reporters October 10 ahead of team workouts at American Family Field.
Team captain Christian Yelich echoed the skipper’s remarks.
“Previous seasons don’t really have any impact on the current one and the outcome of previous seasons…has nothing to do with what’s going to happen in the upcoming series,” said Yelich. “You’re ​playing ​for ​a ​chance ​to ​go ​to ​the ​World ​Series, ​so ​you ​don’t ​need ​much ​more ​motivation ​than ​that, ​regardless ​of ​who ​you’re ​playing.”
All parties Saturday acknowledged the advantage that came with getting through the NLDS against the San Diego Padres in just four games, allowing for the extra rest that will allow ace Jacob Misiorowski to start Game 1 October 11. Miz pointed to a bullpen that across 19 innings of work allowed just one run in the series.
“It was huge for our bullpen to pull it together and really do their job and handle business,” says Misiorowski. “Setting up the starting staff was huge, and it gets me, [Logan Henderson], and the rest of the guys ready to go.”
Misorowski’s Game 1 counterpart, Tarik Skubal, looked very much in the NLDS like the kind of pitcher Los Angeles was hoping to inherit when the acquired him at the trade deadline from Detroit. Skubal threw 94 pitches across six innings and allowed one run and two hits, struck out seven and walked two in a 5-3 win over the Atlanta Braves while battling against triple-digit heat at Dodger Stadium.
Misiorowski says the significance of the Game 1 matchup of aces doesn’t weigh too much on his mind.
“Obviously it’s cool, the dude’s insane,” admits Misiorowski, “But I’m just hoping that these guys can do their job and handle business with him and let me do my thing and get that side taken care of.”
Misiorowski could face the phenom that is Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani early in Game 1, though the Japanese superstar trickled down the batting order against the Braves as he struggled to produce at the plate (.143 avg, 2-14, 4 Ks) and eventually hit as low as in the five-spot in Game 3.
“You got to still pitch like he’s the best in the world and trust your stuff and go beat him at his game and do your job,” said Misiorowski when asked if Ohtani’s sub-par NLDS would impact his approach against him.
While not officially official, it will in all likelihood be Henderson getting the starting nod for Game 2 October 12. From there, the team seems to like Robert Gasser as a Game 3 option following his performance in Game 4 against the Padres (4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K). Behind each starter will be a bullpen that didn’t even need to turn to arms like Chad Patrick, Kyle Harrison, or Shane Drohan in the NLDS.
“It gives you a ton of flexibility to deploy guys in different ways throughout the series,” says Brewers President of Business Operations Matt Arnold on the pen’s play so far this October. “It takes a little bit of pressure off the starters, if they need that…They’re all diverse, they get you out in different ways. I feel really good about that group right now.”
If the Brewers are looking to shore anything up before facing a 100-win Dodgers team, it will likely be doing more to take advantage of every runner to reach base. Against San Diego, Milwaukee left 37 men on including a handful of bases loaded scenarios. The 9.25 LOB average in the four-game series was roughly two more than their 2026 regular season average.
Also uncharacteristic of the Brewers in the NLDS were the errors committed in the field; Milwaukee had five total against the Padres including three in a Game 2 victory that will be remembered less for the fielding flubs and much more for the walk-off single by Jackson Chourio.
Rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt had a particularly rough series with three miscues, though Murphy credits the 22-year-old for powering through when the lights were bright.
“The beautiful thing is…Cooper had not played his best defense and then came back and played great, made big plays,” says Murphy. “I think that response is what this whole thing is about, responding, because things are going to go haywire, and [you have to] be able to respond.”
One of the most haywire moments of the NLDS came by way of the American Family Field roof truss support wires in Game 1. MLB ultimately has control over the roof’s status for Game 1 of the NLCS Sunday, though the forecast by WTMJ Meteorologist Craig Koplein couldn’t be more ideal for a mid-October evening: temperatures are expected to be in the mid-70s at first pitch and will only drop to the mid-60s by the time affairs likely are wrapped for the night.
As for Game 2 Monday, temperatures could be even warmer and approach 80 degrees, but by 7pm there does exist a slight chance for rain.
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