The Milwaukee Brewers have used the doubts as fuel for their dreams all season. Now, after the Chicago Cubs fell to the Oakland A’s 5-3 on Wednesday, the Brewers have clinched the National League’s Central division.
“This team,” manager Pat Murphy said earlier this month, “was not expected to be where they are.”
Entering the season, the PECOTA projection system picked the Brewers to win only 79 games. The team had traded away ace Corbin Burnes. Lockdown closer Devin Williams suffered a back injury that would cost him months in the early days of spring training. The injury bug continued to bite Milwaukee’s pitching staff for much of the season.
And yet, the Brewers just kept playing winning baseball. Christian Yelich, before season-ending back surgery in August, hit .315. Willy Adames posted another stellar season at shortstop. William Contreras put down a stamp as perhaps the best catcher in the league. After batting just .210 through his first two months in the big leagues, rookie star Jackson Chourio settled down and blossomed into one of the best hitters from the start of July on.
Mostly, though, the Brewers are here thanks to the contributions on the margins. Tobias Myers became the headliner of a pitching staff that has defied expectations. Players such as Brice Turang and Sal Frelick fueled Milwaukee’s small-ball approach, stealing bases, playing winning defense and keeping the Brewers locked tight in nearly every game.
Overlooked as they may be, it is the Brewers — not the Cubs or St. Louis Cardinals — who are this division’s powerhouse. They won the Central in runaway fashion. They have made the playoffs in six of the past seven years and won the division four times in that span.
They are still vying to pass the Phillies or Dodgers for a first-round bye. But now in the postseason, we shall see if their charmed year can continue.
“This could be a great opportunity,” Murphy said, “a really great opportunity to do something really special.”
(Photo: Chris Coduto / Getty Images)
