Milwaukee's first postseason game of the year was a thriller from start to finish, closing out a 3-2 victory over San Diego to kick off their NLDS matchup. Carrying the momentum of a historic regular season, the Brewers stayed true to the game plan that got them here with patience at the plate and on the mound alike. It wasn't always pretty, but the air of humble confidence coming from the dugout kept the Brew Crew on course for a victory.
Through the ups and downs, Game 1 showed us glimpses of Pat Murphy's strategy for the series and how creative he's willing to be in that effort. It was a shaky start by Jacob Misiorowski's standards, but the support of the bullpen got Milwaukee across the finish line, as the offensive stars showed up when it mattered most. Jackson Chourio and William Contreras' home runs in the second and seventh innings made all the difference despite San Diego tallying nine hits to Milwaukee's seven.
Coming out of this matchup, with another one rapidly approaching, there are a handful of lessons to be gleaned from how the Brewers handled business to start their NLDS run.
1. Pat Murphy is going deep into the bullpen to give the Brewers their best shot at winning in the playoffs.
This wasn't the start Milwaukee wanted from 24-year-old ace Jacob Misiorowski, and he'll probably be harder on himself than anyone. The Miz allowed two runs in four innings, but did so while striking out six batters, throwing strikes on 72.7% of his pitches, and setting the postseason record for the fastest pitch with a 104.8 MPH bullet on his opening hurl. So at the end of the day, even Misiorowski's worst outcomes aren't so bad.
Facing a San Diego batting order that has more runs than any team but the Brewers in the last month, the Brewers' bullpen prevailed. Murphy called on a platoon of Antonio Senzatela, Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe, DL Hall, and Trevor Megill to put the game away, keeping the Padres guessing about what was coming next.
Megill, who was credited with the save, struck out two batters at the top of the ninth inning to finish the night, asserting himself as one of the best closers in the league. He's likely going to have his work cut out for him in the playoffs, as Murphy has proven he's willing to go as deep as is needed into his rotation to get a win with the stakes this high.
2. San Diego is not backing down easily, no matter how Milwaukee handles its bullpen rotation.
Game 1 was a chess match between managers and bullpens with 11 different pitchers seeing action, and at times, the Padres seemed unfazed by all the antics. Seven different batters logged a hit in the contest, and four of them tallied walks as well. The Padres seemed to mimic the Brewers' strategy, practicing patience at the plate and extending the pitch count as long as possible to wear down their opponents.
Milwaukee didn't let this get the best of them tonight, but there was some luck involved. Chourio's clutch catch of Ty France's roof-scraping pop-up was nearly a homer that would've put the Padres up in this contest, and it's hard to deny that it was a lucky break to some extent.
The Brewers were smart not to underestimate the Padres in the NLDS opener, but they can't lose sight of that moving forward, either.
3. The Brewers might need to get creative with their batting order to sustain offensive momentum.
Milwaukee had a tough time finding offensive production from numbers six through nine in their batting order: Rookies Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara, center fielder Garrett Mitchell, and third baseman Joey Ortiz.
They combined for two hits in 14 at-bats, with Pratt and Ortiz each striking out twice, and Mitchell once. In fairness to Mitchell, this wasn't his fault, as he contributed a hit and a run in the third inning, and a walk and a steal in the sixth. But the rest of the group looked a little bit lost against a tough bullpen rotation,
Lara and Pratt have earned a ton of trust, and both made some key plays on defense in the contest. Murphy is empowering these young players by throwing them into the fire and letting them learn about the intensity of playoff baseball by experiencing it. At least Lara made contact and put some pressure on the Padres' defense, but Pratt struggled mightily, leaving six men on base in the process, and Ortiz wasn't much better.
It wouldn't be surprising to see Murphy make a change to the batting order and stagger some of his stars or more proven commodities later in the lineup to generate more scoring opportunities. But considering the lengths he went to in securing a win in Game 1, it'd be shocking if he didn't make tweaks to the strategy every step of the way in that chase for the World Series.
Add us as a preferred source on Google