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Fox News
a day ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Surprised By The Brewers? How A Bunch of ‘Average Joes' Are Among MLB's Best
Pat Murphy understands the incredulity and puzzlement spawned by the Milwaukee Brewers' success. The team's manager leans into it, in fact. "It's a bunch of guys nobody's ever heard of," Murphy said last week when his small-market club swept the mighty Dodgers for the second time this month. The Dodgers' luxury-tax payments alone exceed Milwaukee's entire payroll, which ranks in the bottom 10 of the sport. Yet the Brewers — with "a bunch of Average Joes," as Murphy endearingly refers to his group — reached the 100-game mark with the best record in the sport. That band of light-hitting castoffs and misfits, accustomed to being overlooked, reeled off 11 straight wins, tied for the second-longest winning streak in franchise history, before falling 1-0 Tuesday in Seattle despite their 23-year-old flamethrowing rookie All-Star, Jacob Misiorowski, tallying his third scoreless outing in six career MLB starts. Misiorowski is a spectacle to behold, though he is an outlier on the Brewers' obscure, superstar-starved roster. They do not have a player who ranks in the top 40 in FanGraphs' version of wins above replacement. They do not have a player with 20 home runs. They do not have a player who ranks in the top 20 in jersey sales, and they do not have a player with an .800+ OPS. They let Willy Adames, their 2024 home run and RBI leader, sign a nine-figure deal with the Giants in December. Days later, they traded star closer Devin Williams to the Yankees. This all came a year after trading away their ace, Corbin Burnes. They do not spend money to backfill those departures, and yet, they continue to make it work by extracting the most out of their talent and upside. They have won 35 of their last 48 games after starting the year 25-28. "When their friends go to Las Vegas and see, 'The Brewers are predicted to win X number of games,' you know what I mean, they hear about it," Murphy said, "and they love to outdo those expectations." The Brewers have made the playoffs six times in the last seven seasons and have won the division three times in the last four years, despite an Opening Day payroll that has not ranked higher than 19th in that span. (This year, it ranked 24th.) Their competitive balance tax figure projects to be about $100 million under the threshold. This season, they're only paying two players — Christian Yelich and Rhys Hoskins — more than $10 million. They have gone on this run without Hoskins, one of their top power threats, who has been out since July 6 with a thumb sprain. Their leader in WAR, Sal Frelick, strained his hamstring at the end of the first half; the Brewers still reeled off wins in their first four games out of the break without him. William Contreras, their 2024 WAR leader, considered by many before the season to be the best catcher in baseball, is hitting around league average with the lowest OPS of his career. And yet, they are 60-41 as the trade deadline nears. It's the latest in a season since 1982 that the Brewers have boasted the best record in MLB. The production is hard to fathom for many, save for those who watch them on a daily basis or have fallen victim to their wrath. "They can really pitch, the pen is lights out, they catch it, they play good defense," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained. "In totality, they do a good job of preventing runs, and offensively it's just a dynamic team. They don't punch much, they steal some bases, they bunt, they hit and run, and they do a lot of different things. I think Murph does a good job with those guys." The moniker bestowed upon the club by Murphy, a former college coach who seems to be the perfect fit to guide this youthful group, is not an entirely accurate description. His players are, it seems, a bunch of well-above-Average Joes. While Murphy believes the top of his lineup "hasn't scratched the surface" of what it is capable of yet, the Brewers still have seven regulars who are above league-average hitters this year. Only two teams have more. "Good teams, the lower half of the lineup contributes," Murphy said. "I think those guys are contributing." One of those contributors was the lesser-known acquisition from the Williams trade. In addition to starter Nestor Cortes, the Brewers also received a 5-foot-7-inch prospect who was drafted in the 14th round in 2021 out of Washington University in St. Louis. That player, Caleb Durbin, personifies the identity of his new club. Durbin made his MLB debut on April 18. The speedy, contact-first infielder is now among eight position players on the team worth between 1-3 fWAR. "These guys have been told they can't do it their whole lives, most of them," Murphy said. "So, it's good to have that." The Brewers rank last in barrel rate, 23rd in home runs and 22nd in slugging, but they excel in most other areas. They have the third-lowest chase rate, the fifth-lowest whiff rate and the seventh-fewest strikeouts in MLB. They rank in the top 10 in both on-base percentage and walks, and they cause havoc on the basepaths, stealing more bases than any team in the National League. "We're just really fortunate that these guys are jelling and coming together and playing hungry," Murphy said. "Play hungry, and anything's possible." By working counts, putting the ball in play and taking extra bases, the Brewers can wear opponents down. They also defend well, ranking second in outs above average to assist a pitching staff that is the primary reason for their success. Milwaukee's pitchers rank ninth in strikeouts and are adept at avoiding barrels, boasting the second-lowest hard-hit rate in MLB. The Brewers have three All-Stars on the mound in Freddy Peralta, Misiorowski — whose fastball averages 99.3 mph — and closer Trevor Megill. But it is their depth on both sides of the ball, built in part from the discards of other clubs, that has allowed them to sustain success. "The belief is there," outfielder Isaac Collins said. "Everyone's playing free." Murphy describes Collins, who was selected by the Brewers in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 draft and made the Opening Day roster after an injury to outfielder Blake Perkins, as the team's "silent hero." The 28-year-old, who now hits in the middle of the order, ranks fourth in fWAR and fifth in OPS among all MLB rookies with at least 200 plate appearances. There are similar surprises littered throughout the roster. Quinn Priester, a 2019 first-round pick of the Pirates, had a 6.46 ERA in Pittsburgh before getting traded to Boston last July and then to Milwaukee this April. The former top pitching prospect has a 3.33 ERA in 18 appearances (13 starts) with the Brewers and struck out 10 Dodgers batters in six scoreless innings on Friday in Los Angeles. First baseman Andrew Vaughn, another 2019 first-round pick, was unable to fulfill his tremendous potential with the White Sox, where he was a below-replacement level player over parts of five seasons. The 27-year-old was at Triple-A Charlotte when the Brewers offered him a fresh start, dealing from their pitching surplus when Aaron Civale requested a trade. Like Priester, Vaughn has run with the opportunity. He was called up on July 7 and homered in his first game. The Brewers have lost just once since, and he has a .943 OPS with his new club. "A kid like Vaughn, he was in the proverbial cooler in baseball," Murphy said. "He's on a team that's not going to contend, and then all of a sudden he's in Triple-A like, 'What's going on?' … Then to have that opportunity to be resurrected and respond the way he did speaks to who he is." The Brewers, who rank sixth in ERA overall and tied for second in starters' ERA, continue to churn out more arms than they can use, which should give them plenty of ammunition to add at the deadline. There is so much solid Brewers pitching, in fact, that Chad Patrick, an early contender for the NL Rookie of the Year Award, had to be optioned to Triple-A to make room for Brandon Woodruff, a two-time All-Star and the longest-tenured Brewer, whose return from a lengthy, arduous shoulder rehab has coincided with the club's winning streak. Milwaukee was 49-40 and four games back in the NL Central on July 6 when Woodruff made his first start since September 2023. He struck out eight batters and allowed one run in six innings of a 3-1 win. Two weeks later, the Brewers are 60-41 and tied for the lead in the NL Central with the Cubs, whose manager, Craig Counsell, left Milwaukee a year ago for seemingly greener pastures. That opened the door for Murphy, who was part of Counsell's staff, to take over as Milwaukee's skipper. In Murphy's first year at the helm, the Brewers exceeded expectations and won 93 games, finishing 10 games ahead of the Cubs and Cardinals. Murphy was named NL Manager of the Year, but Milwaukee's season fizzled out in the wild-card round for the second straight year. Now, this unheralded group is defying what many thought possible once again. "They remember the kind of year they had last year, a lot of them, and how it ended," Murphy said. "I think that they're still hungry." Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Brewers hungry to begin new winning streak in series finale with Mariners
July 23 - Those working the kitchen at George Webb Restaurants in Wisconsin can turn off the grill. No burgers for you, Brewers fans! The Milwaukee Brewers fell shy of their 12th consecutive victory Tuesday night in Seattle, managing just two hits in a 1-0 defeat. The three-game interleague series wraps up Wednesday afternoon. The loss deprived fans of cashing in on a promotion that dates back to the late 1940s, when the restaurant's namesake predicted a 12-game winning streak for the then-minor-league Brewers. The deal continued when Milwaukee was home to the major-league Braves from 1953-65 and was resurrected by George Webb's son, Jim, when the Brewers came to town in 1970. The promotion has come to fruition only twice in Brewers history -- in 1987 and 2018. The restaurant, which has locations throughout Wisconsin, gave away nearly 170,000 hamburgers over a three-day period in 1987 and about 190,000 in 2018, according to Brewers fans will go hungry because of Cal Raleigh, who accounted for the lone run with his major league-leading 39th homer of the season in the sixth inning. "Raleigh's one of the best hitters in the game right now ... we gave up a home run to the best home-run hitter in the game," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "He hit a decent pitch." Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings before being relieved after 64 pitches. The right-hander, who represented the National League in the All-Star Game after just his fifth major-league start, allowed three hits, walked one and struck out seven. "You can't give him that big of a rest and then let him go out there (like) his normal start. You got to build him up, so we thought somewhere (about) 55 pitches," Murphy said. "I thought he was very good. Electric in the first inning, and then, you know, it came down a little bit and by the 50th pitch you could see his velo coming down, and you could see that he hadn't been out there in a while. So, I was very proud of what he did." Seattle starter Logan Gilbert, a former All-Star, seemed to relish the opportunity to match up with Misiorowski. "It's a fun challenge, especially going against their starter. He's got great stuff," Gilbert said. "It helps when you have somebody like Cal just hitting homers in the big moment." The Brewers will look to start a new streak Wednesday when they send Quinn Priester (8-2, 3.33 ERA) to the mound against Seattle's Luis Castillo (7-5, 3.21) in a matchup of right-handers. Priester has not lost since May 13 and defeated the host Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 last Friday as he allowed just three hits over six innings, didn't walk a batter and struck out 10. He'll be facing the Mariners for the first time. Castillo has won his past three starts, pitching 6 2/3 scoreless innings of three-hit ball Friday in a 6-1 victory against the visiting Houston Astros. Castillo is 4-8 with a 3.34 ERA in 18 career starts against the Brewers. --Field Level Media
Reuters
5 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Red-hot Brewers bid to complete season sweep of Dodgers
July 20 - The Milwaukee Brewers not only will be chasing a 10th consecutive victory on Sunday, they will be out to finish a perfect 6-0 season series against the host Los Angeles Dodgers. Neither team has gone perfect against the other in a single season, with the Brewers going 6-1 in the 2012 season series that included a 4-0 mark on the road. Milwaukee's latest victory over Los Angeles came Saturday after Isaac Collins and Joey Ortiz hit home runs and William Contreras added a two-run double in an 8-7 decision. All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta tied a season high by allowing four runs, but the bullpen did just enough with Trevor Megill pitching a scoreless ninth inning for his 23rd save. The Brewers are one game behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central, one season after they won the division by 10 games but were eliminated in the wild-card round of the playoffs. "That's what's kind of cool and unique about us: While there's not a bunch of big names, there's a bunch of guys who are hungry still," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "They remember the kind of year they had last year and how it ended. I think they're still hungry." The Brewers will send left-hander Jose Quintana (6-3, 3.28 ERA) to the mound for his second consecutive start against the Dodgers. Quintana gave up one run on two hits over six innings against Los Angeles at home July 9 when Milwaukee earned a 3-2 victory in 10 innings. In 14 career appearances (11 starts) against the Dodgers, Quintana is 3-2 with a 2.00 ERA. The Dodgers found the kind of offense they have been looking for Saturday with home runs from Shohei Ohtani, Tommy Edman and Miguel Rojas. Edman had two hits to put a 0-for-29 downturn to rest. And yet the seven runs and 10 hits were not enough. "They're pitching really good," the Dodgers' Teoscar Hernandez said when asked about five consecutive losses to the Brewers. "When somebody deserves credit, you have to give it to them. They ... have been playing really good baseball against us." The Dodgers are set to send veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw (4-1, 3.38 ERA) to the mound after he retired the two batters he faced at Tuesday's All-Star Game. Kershaw will be facing the Brewers for his second consecutive start, giving up two runs on six hits in six innings on July 8 in what ended up as his only loss of the season so far. In 20 career starts against Milwaukee, he is 9-6 with a 2.86 ERA and has 127 strikeouts over 122 2/3 innings. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave No. 2 hitter Mookie Betts the day off just two days after the season resumed from the All-Star break. Betts was 3-for-28 (.107) over his previous seven games. "He was more than willing and wanting to be out there, but for me, I felt I wanted to take (the decision) out of hands," Roberts said. "... I don't know how long (the rest) is going to be. It could be one night, it could be two. My expectation is that he will be back in there (Sunday)." The Dodgers not only have lost nine of their past 11, they have lost five consecutive home games going back to a three-game sweep by the Houston Astros from July 4-6. --Field Level Media
Reuters
6 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Brewers put 8-game winning streak on line vs. Dodgers
July 19 - The Milwaukee Brewers started the second half like they ended the first, with a victory. The Brewers will put an eight-game winning streak on the line Saturday against the host Los Angeles Dodgers. Right-hander Freddy Peralta (11-4, 2.66 ERA) will take the mound for the Brewers on a run of six wins in as many starts. One of the six came at home against the Dodgers on July 7 when he delivered six scoreless innings on five hits with seven strikeouts. Peralta closed out the first half by allowing one run on three hits in 6 2/3 innings against the Washington Nationals on Sunday. A National League All-Star for the second time, Peralta did not pitch in the game on Tuesday. "He's been here so many years, you don't want to say, 'Hey, he's coming into his own,'" Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Peralta. "But he's taken that other step and found the consistency that big-time pitchers do." In seven career starts against the Dodgers, Peralta is 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA. In two starts at Los Angeles, however, his ERA stands at 4.50. In the Brewers' 2-0 victory over the Dodgers on Friday, Quinn Priester had 10 strikeouts and Caleb Durbin hit a home run with an RBI double. Christian Yelich had a single to extend his on-base streak to 25 games. The Dodgers will counter with right-hander Emmet Sheehan (1-0, 2.03), who will be making his fourth major-league appearance and third start since returning from Tommy John surgery. Last Saturday at San Francisco, Sheehan followed a three-inning start by Shohei Ohtani by allowing one run on two hits over 4 1/3 innings of relief to pick up his first win since September 2023. "I think the past few weeks, it's just been all kind of coming together a little bit," Sheehan said after his win ended the Dodgers' seven-game losing streak. Saturday's start is lining up as Sheehan's audition to remain in the rotation. Veteran left-hander Blake Snell is due back from a shoulder injury soon, but the Dodgers need to lighten the workload on starter Dustin May, who has returned from his own Tommy John procedure. Los Angeles managed to end a seven-game losing streak just before the break, but the offensive issues that plagued them during the downturn were present again Friday. The Dodgers had just three hits in their return from the break and were held without a run for the first time since June 6 at St. Louis. They have been shut out five times this season. "I don't know if it is a concern. It's one of those perfect storms in the sense that some guys haven't been swinging the bats well and you're running into good pitching," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "But tomorrow is a new day and we have to reset and be ready because those guys aren't going to feel sorry for us, and (Peralta) is an All-Star." Freddie Freeman reached base on a double and a walk for Los Angeles after he went into the break with a .203 batting average and one home run in 37 games since June 1. The double was Freeman's 534th, tying him with Lou Gehrig for 42nd all-time. --Field Level Media
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
MLB playoffs 2025: NL standings shape up for 'spicy' pennant race
The next two-plus months will shake things out, and with the division leads frontrunners Philadelphia (a half-game), Chicago (one game) and Los Angeles (5 1/2 games) hold, nothing's guaranteed. "It's a spicy division this year, that's for sure," says Milwaukee Brewers closer Trevor Megill of the NL Central, where his club lurks a game behind the Cubs. "The Cubs have a fantastic product out on the field this year and so do some other teams in our division. "It's going to come down to that last game." Slim as some margins are, we'll give those leaders a pass and break down the half-dozen clubs aiming to run them down - or at least fight off the others for one of three wild-card spots: Milwaukee Brewers: Grit and grind Standing: 56-40, one game behind Chicago in NL Central, four-game lead for wild card spot. What's their deal?: They've once again outkicked expectations, with manager Pat Murphy guiding a wild mix of youth and veterans and All-Star pitcher Freddy Peralta helming a rotation that has unleashed touted rookie Jacob Misiorowski for five starts - with the baseball world suddenly captivated by what may come next. Before the trade deadline: Nine of 12 games against playoff contenders Seattle, the Los Angeles Dodgers and, from July 28-30, the first-place Cubs. Why the Brewers?: "The way the Brewers run themselves and the research they do on people, personalities - that goes into a lot of what we're seeing right now. Power of friendship, right? We've got a college-minded coach at the helm and I think a lot of our guys are just that gritty, tough, and we go and get after it. I think that's our biggest strength: A lot of guys that like each other and a lot of guys willing to put their body on the line every night." - Megill New York Mets: Help has arrived Standing: 55-42, half-game behind Philadelphia in NL East, 2 1/2 -game lead for wild card spot. What's their deal?: An encouraging July got even brighter when injured pitchers Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga made their returns in their final series of the first half, with Senga pitching four scoreless innings at Kansas City. Juan Soto has shaken the new-team blues, with 12 homers and a .312/.450/.642 line in his last 35 games after going .229/.367/.430 in his first 62. Before the trade deadline: Nine of 12 games against NL contenders Cincinnati, San Francisco and San Diego. Why the Mets?: "We've got talent, we've got grit, we've got chemistry - those are all things you need to win ballgames. We've shown some obviously really great moments of consistency. But we haven't been perfect. We've had some injuries, but we're getting a ton of guys back. When you combine talent and attention to detail and grit, it makes for a winning ballclub." - Pete Alonso San Diego Padres: A road hurdle ahead Standing: 52-44, 5 1/2 games behind Los Angeles in NL West, half-game lead for wild card spot. What's their deal?: Injuries have slowed them much of the year, with sophomore Jackson Merrill struggling after a pair of IL trips, pitcher Yu Darvish making his season debut just before the All-Star break and Michael King out until August with shoulder irritation. Manny Machado is playing like an MVP. The bullpen produced three All-Stars. Before the trade deadline: A 10-game road trip to Washington, Miami and St. Louis, followed by a three-game showdown against the Mets. Why the Padres?: "We have the confidence and we're going to have a good second half. We're motivated to make the playoffs." - Robert Suarez San Francisco Giants: Time to get offensive Standing: 52-45, six games behind Los Angeles in NL West, half-game out of wild card spot. What's their deal?: It's torture all over again, as the pitching staff's 3.50 ERA ranks third in the majors but batters rank 26th with a .678 OPS, stirring memories of their 2010 champions' knack for winning close games. Rafael Devers has two homers and a .656 OPS in 25 games as a Giant, and along with Willy Adames must adjust from hitter-friendly climes to Oracle Park's batter-killing conditions, though both will benefit from Matt Chapman's return. Before the trade deadline: A six-game trip to Toronto and Atlanta and three at home against Pittsburgh. Why the Giants?: "We're getting Willy going, we got Chappy back, and if we can get Raffy going as well, that's great. Once we get our hitters going, we're going to be pretty hot. We play the most one-run games in baseball and I think that sets us up for success in the playoffs. There's a lot of close games. Our pitchers and our hitters are comfortable in those situations." - Robbie Ray St. Louis Cardinals: Might as well win the whole thing Standing: 51-46, 6 1/2 games behind Chicago in NL Central, 1 1/2 games out of wild card spot. What's their deal?: Written off for 2025 after a much-ballyhooed franchise "reset" and a winter spent failing to trade Nolan Arenado, the Cardinals that remained comprised a pretty good squad. Sonny Gray has pitched like an ace, Brendan Donovan - a 3-WAR player in the first half - has led their band of versatile position player pieces and DH Ivan Herrera has returned from injury after posting a .924 OPS in 43 games. Before the trade deadline: A six-game trip to Colorado and Arizona followed by a big four-game set at home against San Diego. Loser sells to the winner? Why the Cardinals?: "I think it's a group that's not afraid of anything. People learning how to go about their business in the big leagues and learning about who they are and that's what makes us scary. We just did all the things we had harped on in spring training: Taking care of the baseball, having quality at-bats, sticking to a team approach while also sticking to our individual approaches. I think our expectations were completely different than the ones set on us." - Donovan Cincinnati Reds: Youth movement, veteran guide Standing: 50-47, 7 1/2 games behind Chicago in NL Central, 2 1/2 games out of wild card berth. What's their deal?: The rotation ranks sixth in the NL with a 3.88 ERA but has had injury setbacks. All-Star Elly De La Cruz racked up 3.6 WAR while hitting 18 homers with 25 steals. Emilio Pagan solidified the closer role, posting 20 saves by the break. Manager Terry Francona just notched his 2,000th career win. Before the trade deadline: A six-game trip to the Mets and Nationals, followed by three with Tampa Bay. Why the Reds?: "We're a young team. I think we're getting closer to finding our true identity. I truly believe we have a good young core and have a good set of veterans to help the younger players. And our manager. I think that was a really good move for us. Brings in that calmness with firmness. I think we're going to continue to work, continue to show up and the results will show." - Abbott
