There are few better ways to lose a baseball game than by stranding runners on base, and that's been the story of this stretch for the Milwaukee Brewers. Somehow, thanks to their extraordinary pitching, they haven't plummeted down the standings in this stretch. But the Brewers have gone 6-for-51 with runners in scoring position over the last two series, which they escaped with a 4-2 record.
This is the Achilles heel of the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers. They leave an average of 7.44 runners on base per game this season, which is the third-worst mark in the MLB, only behind the Pirates and Cubs. With that many runners abandoned in scoring range, it's a miracle this team is still on pace for its best regular season ever.
If you listen to the comments from players and managers, you'd think they were fighting for a shot at a Wild Card appearance. But this is a team that, if the season ended today, would have a first-round bye. And yet that underdog mentality is exactly what keeps the Brewers humble and hungry in their pursuit of the franchise's first World Series win and second-ever appearance.
That's a credit to the mentality of the veterans in the dugout and Manager Pat Murphy, whose accountability and communication make him one of the best leaders this game has to offer.
If the Brewers figure out how to stop stranding runners on base, Milwaukee should have no problem making a deep playoff run.
Even despite their woes with runners left in scoring position, the Brewers are an absolute powerhouse on both sides of the field. They rank fourth in the entire MLB in terms of total runs and RBI. There's also a strong argument to be made that this is the best pitching team in the entire league right now, so if they actually got their runners across home plate at even a league-average rate, they could very easily jump into the league-lead in scoring as well.
It's almost an embarassment of riches at this point. The whole Brewers fandom stopped and held its breath as of late because of all the wasted scoring opportunities, and yet the team is still chugging along as if nothing's wrong in the first place.
With that said, it's absolutely something they'll need to shore up before the postseason arrives, because teams will pick the Brewers apart if they can't get across home plate. Whether that means making changes to the lineup, retooling the batting order, or simply continuing to keep swinging, there's a pathway to Milwaukee fixing their biggest issue, and the rest of the MLB should be terrified if they do.
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