With 23 games left in the regular season, it's looking more and more every day like the Milwaukee Brewers will coast through the Wild Card round with a first-round bye. Their record stands at 86-53 with an eight-game lead over the Chicago Cubs for the NL Central title, and they have four more wins than either of the other two teams contending for the National League's No. 1 seed, between Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Even so, Milwaukee Brewers Manager Pat Murphy isn't quite ready to ease up on his team. During an apperance on MLB TV, Murphy peeled back the curtain on his thought process for how to manage his bullpen and batting lineup down the stretch of the regular season:
"You've got to stay on the gas. You can't coast uphill. I think the decisions are how you deploy your relief pitching and your starters without backing off. At the same time, you've got to preserve their health, if you can."
Murphy has been deploying a six-man starting-pitcher rotation since the trade deadline, with Dustin May and Robert Gasser cracking the lineup. Now that Abner Uribe has returned to the rotation, the Brewers' relievers and closers are also back to full strength, giving them access to one of the deepest bullpens in the MLB. But how far he'll reach into that rotation, or how much rest he'll offer for his starters, remains up in the air for the final days of the 2026 season.
So long as they build enough cushion, Pat Murphy and the Milwaukee Brewers should rest their stars as much as possible.
We've seen slight dips in production and velocity for some of the Brewers' most important pitchers as we get into the dog days of the regular season. More so than anyone, Kyle Harrison needs a chance to regain his footing. After spending much of the year as one of the most effective starting pitchers in baseball, the 25-year-old southpaw just got blown up for nine runs on 10 hits by the rival Chicago Cubs.
If power is going to be a problem, the Brewers can probably afford to manage a few bumped starts from the team's best players. With series against the Pirates, Orioles, and Cardinals slated to take place over the next few weeks, Milwaukee might have a chance to get some well-earned rest for star talent while still having enough gas left to string together wins and hold onto that top spot in the National League.
That doesn't just apply to pitchers, either. All signs point toward Jake Bauers and Brice Turang, the Brewers' shining stars at first and second base, respectively, being banged up right now. They've both missed time while dealing with lower-body injuries, yet they remain paramount to Milwaukee's ability to compete when the lights shine the brightest.
So while Murphy hopes to keep his foot on the pedal, he might not have a choice but to rest some of his starters late in this season and hope that the young stars this team has invested so much time and energy into developing this year can keep them afloat while preparing for the Playoff run ahead.
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