Until late Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers coasted through the 2026 Major League Baseball playoffs.
They had won eight straight games against the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. The hottest team in baseball in the second half of the season, a high-powered, star-studded, expensive roster that won 100 games, and the best team in the American League that also won 98 games.
It seemed like every single move manager Pat Murphy made worked perfectly. Better than perfectly. When they started light-hitting utility infielder David Hamilton, he hit a home run off Edwin Diaz to give the Brewers an insurance run in the ninth inning of a clinching Game 4 in the NLCS. Sal Frelick was perfectly positioned to run down a 106 mph line drive to right center field off the bat of Freddie Freeman, potentially changing the course of game two.
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Aaron Ashby, a very good reliever, had become the best reliever in postseason history. Better than Mariano Rivera, better than Kenley Jansen, or Billy Wagner, or other elite pitchers. His 18 scoreless innings to start a postseason set a new baseball record. Robert Gasser, an average to below average starter, had allowed just one run in 15 innings, despite getting few swings and misses or strikeouts.
In Game 4 of the World Series, Hamilton, who had just four homers in the regular season, hit another one to tie the score at two. Then rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt hit a go-ahead homer in the top of the 12th inning, putting the Brewers three outs away from clinching their first ever championship.
If that doesn’t sum up Milwaukee’s postseason run, it’s hard to imagine what would. But in the bottom of the 12th, it all fell apart in the blink of an eye. Junior Caminero reached on an error. Liam Hicks singled, sending Caminero to third. Jonny DeLuca tied it with a single to center. Chandler Simpson singled to load the bases. Then Ben Williamson ended it with a very Brewers-like hit, a ground ball to the right side that took a huge bounce over first base to reach the outfield.
Innings like that happen all the time in baseball. An error to start the inning, followed by things quickly spiraling. There are a few well-placed hits, a lucky bounce goes the opposing team’s way, and before you know it, two runs have scored and the game is over. But what made this outcome especially frustrating for Milwaukee was that it might not have needed to happen.
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The Brewers had Antonio Senzatela on the mound to start the inning, then replaced him with little-used reliever Shane Drohan. Drohan hadn’t pitched since Oct. 15, when he gave up a run to the Dodgers in the NLCS. He’d pitched in a competitive game just once in the past month. At first glance Murphy had few other choices, as all of his best relievers had already been used. Aaron Ashby went over two innings. Trevor Megill was used for just one out. DL Hall had pitched, as had Abner Uribe and JoJo Romero.
And it’s easy to second guess, knowing the outcome, but there was one other option to get the final three outs against the heart of the Tampa Bay lineup: the likely NL Cy Young Award winner, Jacob Misiorowski.
Misiorowski was set to start game on Wednesday, which complicated the decision somewhat, but there’s one guaranteed way to avoid having to worry about Game 5: win game four with three outs to go. After the game, Murphy explained his thought process on going to Drohan over his young ace. Which, uh, wasn’t great.
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Per Brewers beat reporter Curt Hogg, Murphy said Misiorowski was not an option he wanted to burn in a one-run extra innings game while the Brewers had a 3-0 series lead.
As for game five, Murphy added that it’s now “all hands on deck” for Milwaukee.
“Yeah, it’s all hands on deck,” he said. “You can write it up and hope that they perform like the back of their baseball card, but that doesn’t always happen. You go with what you believe is the deal. I trust our guys. I trust them. They put themselves in a position to win.”
Here’s the problem with that: you don’t need all hands on deck if you win Game 4.
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There are two schools of thought here, and again, it’s easy to second guess in hindsight. One is that Drohan, any reliever, really, has a very high likelihood of getting three outs against Liam Hicks, Jonny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson. The other? You’re three outs from winning the World Series, and you have arguably the best pitcher on the planet available to finish the game. It’s not worth worrying about tomorrow, or rest, or injury risk if you win the World Series that’s right in front of you.
Yes, it would be out of Misiorowski’s comfort zone, but the downside was exactly what happened. Instead of scheduling your parade for downtown Milwaukee this weekend, you’re going to Game 5.
The Brewers are still overwhelming favorites to win the series, and especially win Game 5 with Misiorowski on the mound. But they used all of their high leverage relievers, and given Ashby’s drop in velocity towards the end of his outing, their suddenly unhittable multi-inning super reliever might not be available. If the bullpen falters again in Game 5, you’re looking at going home for a Game 6. And history for Tampa starts to look a little bit more possible.
Instead of a title, Milwaukee is now facing a bit more uncertainty. Murphy forgot the golden rule of World Series baseball: flags fly forever.
