When the Brewers got swept at Petco Park in August, two of the three losses came down, at least in part, to bullpen management.
In the first game, a 3-2 loss, Logan Henderson had thrown six strong innings, but Brewers manager Pat Murphy left him in after he allowed a one-out single to Ty France in the seventh. The next batter, Jackson Merrill, hit a two-run homer to give the Padres the lead.
In the third game, a 4-3 extra-inning loss, Murphy sent Dustin May back out to start the eighth. May walked Xander Bogaerts, and Murphy pulled him for Chad Patrick, who walked the bases loaded. Aaron Ashby then came in to face Jake Cronenworth, who tied the game with an infield single. The Brewers retook the lead in the 11th, but Antonio Senzatela gave up two runs in the bottom half, and the Brewers lost.
In the NLDS, Murphy learned from that series. Reluctant to let any pitcher face the Padres’ lineup a third time, he kept each of his starters on an extremely short leash, which was only possible because of the depth and effectiveness of the Brewers’ bullpen in a short series.
Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski hit the showers after just four innings in Game 1, and Milwaukee’s bullpen threw five scoreless. In Game 2, Henderson went five innings, and the bullpen allowed just one unearned run. In Game 3, May exited after three innings, and the only earned run the bullpen allowed came on a solo homer allowed by JoJo Romero.
In Game 4, Murphy pulled starter Robert Gasser after four innings, even though Gasser had allowed only three hits and one run. Milwaukee’s bullpen then held the Padres hitless over the final five innings. For those of you keeping count at home, Brewers relievers threw 19 innings (compared to 16 by Brewers starters) and allowed just one earned run, the Romero homer. That works out to a 0.47 ERA.
Neither team led by more than two runs at any point in the series, but even without any garbage time, Murphy wasn’t afraid to hold his leverage guys back until he absolutely needed them.
In Game 1, he replaced Misiorowski with Senzatela, who isn’t usually on the shortlist for high-leverage spots. Senzatela allowed two hits but got two outs, and then Murphy brought in Ashby to finish the inning.
After Henderson exited in Game 2, Murphy went to Romero, who got two outs and issued a walk. Then, Murphy brought in Uribe, who got the final out of the inning.
In Game 3, down a run in the bottom of the fourth, the first two relievers out of the bullpen were again Romero and Senzatela, who covered 2 2/3 innings between them.
With a one-run lead in Game 4, Murphy finally went first to one of his most trusted options, Ashby, who responded with three hitless innings. Uribe and Megill, the Brewers’ usual eighth- and ninth-inning duo, closed out the game and sent the Crew to the NLCS.
After four playoff games, Murphy’s playoff bullpen strategy is clear. He’ll hold his leverage arms for the right moment, erring on the side of saving them for a true do-or-die situation. He trusts the depth of his bullpen, and he trusts his guys to show up when the lights are brightest.
Comparing Murphy’s bullpen management to that of Padres manager Craig Stammen, it’s hard not to conclude that the bullpens were the difference in this series. The Padres have what Murphy called “the best bullpen in baseball,” so Stammen, like Murphy, kept his starters on a short leash. Unlike Murphy, though, Stammen didn’t seem to trust his depth options.
In Game 1, Stammen used all of his best relievers except closer Mason Miller: Bradgley Rodriguez, Yuki Matsui, Jason Adam, and Adrian Morejon. If not for a Contreras homer off Morejon, the only run San Diego’s bullpen allowed in Game 1, it would have worked.
After starter Michael King exited in Game 2, Stammen went to Matsui and Rodriguez again, then brought in Miller to attempt his first six-out save since 2024. After a dominant eighth, Miller looked fatigued in the ninth and lost command. The Brewers worked three walks, setting the stage for Jackson Chourio’s walk-off single on Miller’s 40th pitch.
Miller and Morejon, who threw 31 pitches in the eighth inning of Game 1, were unavailable for Game 3 with what Stammen called “shoulder stickiness.” When Nick Pivetta exited, Stammen didn’t turn first to one of his less-used arms (Randy Vásquez, Joe Musgrove, or David Morgan). Instead, he went to the same three relievers, Adam, Matsui, and Rodriguez, then called on Game 2 starter Michael King for 40 more pitches.
Understandably, King also ran out of steam in the ninth. After getting the first out, he walked two straight batters, then gave up a 107-mph one-hopper to Christian Yelich. Unfortunately for the Brewers, Yelich hit it right into the shift, and Bogaerts turned two to secure the win.
In Game 4, with his bullpen overworked, Stammen pulled starter Walker Buehler, who’d allowed one earned run over three innings, for Game 1 starter Robbie Ray. Ray gave up a triple to Garrett Mitchell, who scored two batters later to give the Brewers a lead they’d never relinquish. After Ray, Stammen went back to Rodriguez, Matsui, Adam, and then Miller, who didn’t look like his usual dominant self but kept the Brewers off the board. Finally, down 3-1, Stammen turned to Joe Musgrove, who looked great in two hitless innings across the eighth and ninth.
The Brewers now head to the NLCS with a bullpen that allowed one earned run in 19 innings and, more importantly, with arms that aren’t running on empty. Only Ashby threw more than four innings, only Uribe pitched in all four games, and nobody threw more than three innings in a single outing. Guys like Romero and Senzatela also proved Murphy can trust them in the middle innings, and Chad Patrick, Shane Drohan, and Kyle Harrison haven’t pitched yet.
That depth will matter even more in a seven-game series. If Murphy keeps trusting it, the Brewers’ bullpen might be the best weapon left in the postseason.
