Michael Trzinski

Image courtesy of © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images The special season for the Milwaukee Brewers probably started on January 16, 2025. That was the day that beloved announcer and very special friend of the Brewers, Bob Uecker, passed away. Still mourning the loss of ‘Ueck,’ Milwaukee had a good preseason, winning 16 of 30 games in Arizona. Hopes were high for the regular season. They were ready for Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees, however, had different ideas, as they swept the Brewers in three games, outscoring the Crew by a combined run total of 36-14. To add insult to injury, the Kansas City Royals beat the Brewers 11-1 on the last day of March, leaving the Brewers with a record of 0-4 as they entered April. The Brewers held first place in the National League Central for one day in April, but then dropped to the middle of the pack until mid-June. Milwaukee climbed to second place behind the hated Chicago Cubs after a streak that included 21 wins in 28 games from mid-June to mid-July, when they took over the NL Central lead for the first and final time on July 20. Milwaukee won the division title by five games. Milwaukee faced its NL Central foe, Chicago, for the first time in franchise history in the NL Division Series. The Brewers won the first two games easily at Uecker Field but then dropped a pair at Wrigley Field to knot the NLDS matchup at two apiece. Behind a highly partisan crowd at ‘The Ueck,’ the Brewers earned a trip to the NLCS series with a 3-1 Game 5 victory over Chicago. That led to a seven-game NLCS with the overpriced Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers' ownership believes in buying championships, with a payroll of $350M this season. Only two other teams exceeded $300M this year: the New York Mets and the New York Yankees. The Brewers' payroll of $121M pales in comparison. The Collective Bargaining Agreement between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association expires on December 1, 2026. If the Dodgers win another World Series, the owners are going to push hard for a salary cap. But that is a story for another day. Those hated Dodgers—complete with their little ‘Happy Dance’—have beaten the Brewers three straight times to take a commanding lead in the NLCS. Game 4 is on tap for Friday night in Los Angeles, and if the two squads continue playing like they have been the last few days, Milwaukee will fall short in yet another bid for a World Series appearance. The Brewers that dominated the Chicago Cubs in the first two games of the NLDS have disappeared. In those contests, Brewers batters batted .343 (24-for-70), scored 16 runs, and hit .450 (9-for-20) with runners in scoring position. In the six games since (three each against Chicago and Los Angeles), the Brewers are batting .140 (25-for-179), scored nine runs, and are batting .125 (3-for-24) with RISP. In the NLCS alone, the Brewers are batting .101 (9-for-89), scored three runs, and are 1-for-8 with RISP. This series has been completely dominated by Los Angeles. The starting pitching for the Dodgers has been outstanding, with Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow combining for 22.2 innings while allowing seven hits, two runs, and four walks. They have struck out 25 Milwaukee batters. The Dodgers have scored only 10 runs in three games, but that has been enough. It doesn’t get any easier tonight as Shohei Ohtani will take his turn on the mound for Los Angeles. The Brew Crew will counter with left-hander Jose Quintana and hope the 36-year-old can revert to his early-season form. The Brewers have to figure out a way to get to Game 5 and then must win that one, too. From here on out, every game is an elimination game. The postseason that began with so much promise now has Brewers pitching running on fumes. All the clutch hitting that happened in the Chicago series seems like a distant memory. For Brewers fans, we can only hope that our team has a little more of the supernatural in them. Anything less means a quick exit from this series and has us saying, ‘wait until next year!’ Again. View full article

I knew that would come back to bite my butt when Joe Pavelski's lookalike went 2-for-5 with a HR.

True, but you talked about the past. Freeman WAS great, now he is merely good. Vaughn has been a very good player for Milwaukee. That's what I went by...

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images The Brewers earned their way into the National League Championship Series by virtue of their 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 5 of the NLDS Saturday evening at Uecker Field. The Los Angeles Dodgers had a slightly easier path, needing only four games against the Philadelphia Phillies to grab their spot. The Brewers and Dodgers are meeting for the third time in the postseason. In 2018, the Dodgers won in seven games, with three of the first four contests decided by one run. The Dodgers got hammered by the Boston Red Sox in five games in the World Series. Two years later, in the 'Covid Season' of 2020, the Dodgers took two games from the Brewers in Chavez Ravine en route to a six-game win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the Fall Classic. Although baseball is a team game, it helps to break things down into some individual matchups. Here's a comparison of players by position for each team. CATCHER Will Smith (LA) vs. William Contreras (MIL) Smith is expected to get the bulk of the playing time behind the dish, but Verona, Wis. native Ben Rortvedt could play, as well. Smith is still returning to full strength after a prolonged absence due to injury, and only went 2-for-13 in the NLDS. However, he batted .296/.404/.497 with 17 home runs during the regular season. He threw out 27% of runners trying to steal against him and had a -8 FanGraphs Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). 'Wild Bill' should get the vast majority of time as the backstop for the Brewers. Contreras is 6-for-20 with a pair of clutch homers during the playoffs, and slashed .260/.355/.399 with 17 home runs of his own during the season. He also threw out 27% of base thieves and had a DRS of 0, indicating he was an average defender at the most important position in the game. Edge: Slight edge to Contreras FIRST BASE Freddie Freeman (LA) vs. Andrew Vaughn (MIL) Last year's World Series MVP had a solid regular season for the Dodgers, batting .295/.367/.502 with 24 home runs. In the postseason, he is only 5-for-23, with no homers or RBIs. On defense, the DRS for Freeman is -7, near the bottom of all first basemen. He's getting old, and it's eating into his range at first—but he remains a dangerous slugger. Vaughn was two different hitters during the regular season: pretty bad for the White Sox, and pretty dang good for Milwaukee, hitting .308/.375/.493 with 9 homers and 46 RBIs in just 221 at-bats. The 'King' has stayed hot, going 4-for-14 with two huge homers against the Cubs. On defense, he is just a smidge better than Freeman, at least according to his -4 DRS. Edge: Even SECOND BASE Tommy Edman (LA) vs. Brice Turang (MIL) Edman split time at second during the regular season with two other playersm but has taken over the job full-time in the playoffs. He batted .225/.274/.382 with 13 home runs in just 97 games. He's performed similarly in the playoffs, going 5-for-20 with two homers. Defensively, his DRS is -1. Turang had a breakout year for the Brewers, batting .288/.359/.435 with 18 homers and a team-high 24 steals. In the playoffs, he is 3-for-20 with one homer. The Brewers are hoping he can regain his regular-season batting form. His DRS is +6; you can count the better defenders at the keystone on one hand. Edge: Turang THIRD BASE Max Muncy (LA) vs. Caleb Durbin (MIL) Muncy sat out Game 4 with a lefty pitching for Philly, and it could happen again if Jose Quintana or one of the lefty relievers begins a game for the Brewers. Muncy played in 100 games and batted .243/.376/.470 with 19 homers. He had a .564 OPS against southpaws, but a healthy .923 OPS against righties. In the playoffs, he is 4-for-16 with a two-base hit. In the field, his DRS is +3. Durbin has been a pleasant surprise for the Brewers, solidifying a weakness at the position at the start of the season. He hit .256/.334/.387, with 11 homers and 18 stolen bases in 136 games. Durbin is 4-for-16 with two RBIs in the playoffs. He has a DRS of +5. Edge: Slight edge to Muncy SHORTSTOP Mookie Betts (LA) vs. Joey Ortiz (MIL) Betts is in his 12th season and is still going strong. During the season, he batted .258/.326/.406, with 20 homers and only eight steals, down from his usual numbers. He is the hottest Dodgers bat right now, going 10-for-26 with three doubles and a triple in the playoffs. He has a DRS of +17, best in the majors at SS. Ortiz struggles with the bat, hitting only .230/.276/.317 during the season with 7 homers and 14 steals. In the playoffs, he's just 2-for-13, making him a likely candidate to be pinch-hit for. Although Ortiz looks solid in the field, his DRS is -2. Edge: HUGE edge to Betts LEFT FIELD Enrique Hernández (LA) vs. Jackson Chourio (MIL) Hernández, formerly known as Kiké, is getting most of the playing time in left this postseason for the Dodgers, but he has played some third base, as well. During the season, he batted only .203/.255/.366, with 10 jacks in 232 at-bats. The playoffs are a different story: 7-for-22 with two doubles and four RBIs. Defensively, he has a -1 DRS, but only played 72 innings at the position in the regular season. Chourio is still battling that nagging hamstring issue, but a day of rest will help. In the regular season, he batted .270/.308/.463 with 21 homers and 21 steals. He is still allergic to free passes, as he drew only 30 during the season. He's been red-hot in the postseason, hitting 7-for-18 with a homer and a team-leading six RBIs. He has played all three outfield spots, but has a -1 DRS as a left fielder. Edge: Chourio CENTER FIELD Andy Pages (LA) vs. Blake Perkins (MIL) Pages has become a reliable, everyday player for the Dodgers. He played in 156 games and batted .272/.313/.461 with 27 homers and 14 steals, both second-best on the team. The playoffs have been the opposite, with Pages hitting a dreadful 1-for-24. He has a -1 DRS. Perkins only played in 54 games during the regular season due to injuries, and was also on the bereavement list due to the passing of his mother in August. His season totals are down as a result, hitting .226/.298/.348 with 11 extra-base hits and seven steals. He is 3-for-14 with a two-base hit thus far in the postseason. His DRS number is zero, but we know he's better than that. Edge: Pages RIGHT FIELD Teoscar Hernández (LA) vs. Sal Frelick (MIL) Hernández is in his 10th season and has always put up good power numbers, including 25 homers to go with his batting line of .247/.284/.454 in 134 games. He has been a beast in the postseason, hitting a team-leading three homers and notching 9 RBIs while going 8-for-26. He is shaky on defense, with a DRS of +1 but some really ugly plays on his lowlight reel. Frelick was chasing a batting crown (for those who like batting average), hitting .298 as September began, A 12-for-60 streak the last three weeks dropped him to .288/.351/.405. He popped 12 homers and stole 19 bags and was solid in the field, hoping for a repeat of last year's Gold Glove effort. In the playoffs, so far, Frelick is a pedestrian 4-for-17. His +9 DRS is second-best in the National League. Edge: Slight edge to Frelick DESIGNATED HITTER Shohei Ohtani (LA) vs. Christian Yelich (MIL) Ohtani is one of the best players in baseball, and he is only 30 years old. He can hit home runs, steal bases, and even pitch. He started one game in the NLDS and figures to start anohter during the Dodger Stadium phase of this series. His otherworldly batting numbers: .282/.392/.622, with 55 home runs and 20 steals. He also led the NL with 146 runs scored. Yelich is a shadow of his former self, but he still has his moments. If both players were in their primes, this would be something much closer to a toss-up. As it is, Yelich played in 150 games and batted .264/.343/.452, with 29 homers and 103 RBIs, both team bests. He also stole 16 bases. Edge: Ohtani BENCH Los Angeles: Ben Rortvedt (C), Miguel Rojas (INF), Alex Call (OF), Dalton Rushing (C). Milwaukee: Jake Bauers (1B-OF), Isaac Collins (OF), Andruw Monasterio (INF), Brandon Lockridge (OF). Edge: Slight edge to Milwaukee STARTING PITCHING Los Angeles: Blake Snell (LH), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (RH), Tyler Glasnow (RH), Shohei Ohtani (RH). Milwaukee: Freddy Peralta (RH). After that, it is a bunch of question marks. Is Brandon Woodruff healthy enough to return? (Alas: no.) Can Quinn Priester return to his regular-season self? Is Quintana ready to join the starting staff? Others include Aaron Ashby, Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, and Robert Gasser. Will Pat Murphy have a bunch of bullpen games, or will one or more of the pitchers step up and throw a few quality innings in a game? Edge: BIG edge to Los Angeles RELIEF PITCHING Los Angeles: Alex Vesia (LH), Blake Treinen (RH), Emmet Sheehan (RH), Jack Dreyer (LH), Roki Sasaki (RH). Milwaukee: Ashby (LH), Patrick (RH), Megill (RH), Jared Koenig (LH), Nick Mears (RH), Abner Uribe (RH), Grant Anderson (RH). The only known factor in the LA pen is the closer Sasaki, who took over the high-leverage spot due to an injury to Tanner Scott, who will be out for this series, too. Sheehan and Dreyer, though, are really good homegrown arms who have emerged as useful pieces late this season. Edge: Milwaukee WHO WILL WIN? If Milwaukee can regain their summer swagger, the Brewers could easily take this series. If the Brewers can get into the Dodgers bullpen early, the same result. But if the Dodgers' starters pitch five or six effective innings, they have the advantage. Either way, it should be an interesting series, but it would be nice for Milwaukee—after everything they have gone through in the last year—to pull this one out and head to the World Series. Time will tell. View full article

Jason, I think the biggest problem for Milwaukee (and Murphy) will be trying to get four or five innings out of the starters each game. If that doesn't happen too often, it's going to be a long (short) series.

It was a nice bunt, moved runners to 2nd/3rd with one out and the top two hitters in the line-up coming up. You would have figured at least one run...

It may just be me, but doesn't it seem like Joey O is late on everything? It seems like he is constantly hitting foul balls into the first base stands. Needs to start the swing a bit sooner, mayhaps...

Kolten Wong was born in Hilo, Hawaii and was born to play baseball. His father Kolen "Kaha" Wong played collegiate baseball at USC and played two years of minor league ball in the Cleveland Indians organization. After baseball, Kaha took part-time jobs so he could teach his son Kolten the game of baseball. Kolten Wong also became friends with Ultimate Fighting Championship star B.J. Penn and worked out at the Penn family gym, where Kolten learned to to swing a bat. Wong graduated from Kamehameha HS in 2008 after earning Big Island Interscholastic Federation Player of the Year honors in both football and baseball his senior year. He was drafted in the 16th round of the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft but didn't sign after the Twins offered him 'only' $50,000, instead attending the University of Hawaii. Wong would go on to play three years at UH and was a three-time All-Western Athletic Conference first team selection. In 2010, he played in the Cape Cod League and was named to the All-Star name and also earned most valuable player honors. After his junior year, Wong was selected in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2011 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. After nearly three full years in the minors, 'Wonger' made his big league debut as an August call-up with the Cards, but struggled in his six-week stint, hitting only .153/.194/.169 across 62 plate appearances. Strangely, he collected five of his nine hits in a two-game span in mid-August. Wong broke camp with the Cards in 2014 but was demoted to Triple-A in late April after batting only .225/.276/.268. He returned three weeks later and was in the bigs for good. Wong placed third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. The 5-foot-7, 185-pound second baseman spent eight years with St. Louis before being signed as a free agent by Milwaukee February 2021. Wong played two seasons in Milwaukee, playing in a combined 250 games while slashing .262/.337/.439 across 989 plate appearances. In 2021, Wong set career highs with 32 doubles, and the following year he set career bests with 15 homers and an OPS+ of 116. In December 2022, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Abraham Toro and Jesse Winker. Wong was released after four disappointing months by the M's and was picked up by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He spent time in the minors and played in only 20 games for LA before becoming a free agent. Wong signed with the Orioles and then with the Arizona Diamondbacks after being released by Baltimore. He spent a month at Triple-A with Reno and was released in May 2024. Wong announced his retirement a year later. Wong finished his 11-year big league career with 973 hits, 86 HRs, and 120 stolen bases. A line-drive hitter with some pop is one of the top players from Hawaii. He was inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2016 and had his uniform (number 14) retired by the University of Hawaii in 2017. View full player

The Brewers DO have an advantage at 'The Ueck,' but not as much of an advantage as the Cubs have in front of their lunatic fanbase at 'The Dump.' 😎

I'll go back to a point about two hours before game time. WHY was Lockridge in the starting lineup? Pinch-runner? Yes. D-replacement? Yes. Starter? NO.

Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images In front of a crowd that was overwhelmingly made up of Cubs partisans at Wrigley Field Wednesday afternoon, the Cubs gave up one run in the first inning to go down 1-0 early—but followed that with four runs of their own in the bottom of the first. They held off the Brewers, as Milwaukee scored single runs in the fourth and seventh frames but fell to the Cubs, 4-3, in Game 3 of the NLDS. Busch Strikes Again Back in the lineup against right-hander Quinn Priester, Michael Busch launched a full-count pitch to the first row of the right-field bleachers (into a 15-mph wind) for a leadoff jack. It was the third homer of the postseason for Busch, all three of them leading off an inning. The two against Milwaukee led off the game for Chicago. Priester was wild all inning, allowing a single to Nico Hoerner before a free pass to Kyle Tucker. Seiya Suzuki flied to right, and Ian Happ walked to load the bases. Beleaguered Pete Crow-Armstrong (we’ll talk more about him later) delivered a clutch two-out single to right, to knock in two runs and give the Cubs a 3-1 lead. Happ later scored on a wild pitch by Nick Mears, to increase the Chicago lead to 4-1. Brewers Missed Opportunities Milwaukee missed on scoring chances in three key innings. In the first, Milwaukee had the bases loaded with one out. Sal Frelick flied to left, scoring Christian Yelich, who had led off with a double over the first-base bag. Caleb Durbin flied to center to end the threat, though, leaving two runners on base. The Brewers had a golden opportunity in the fourth inning, too, but scored only one run. Frelick and Durbin singled, before Jake Bauers singled to center to knock in Frelick. With Durbin on third, Brandon Lockridge laid down a safety squeeze to first. Durbin broke for home, but Busch’s throw to catcher Carson Kelly at home drove Durbin back toward third. Two throws later, Durbin was called out on a 3-2-5-3 putout for the second out. The good news is that Bauers moved to third and Lockridge moved to second on the ‘hotbox’ play. Unfortunately, Joey Ortiz then grounded out to third with two runners in scoring position for the final out. The eighth inning was perhaps the most frustrating. Jackson Chourio led off with a double to left-center that Crow-Armstong dove for, but saw tick off the end of his blue-and-red glove. Brice Turang struck out, but William Contreras drew a free pass. Frelick grounded to second for a 4-6 force to put runners at first and third. Durbin walked to load the sacks again, but Bauers struck out on a 1-2 pitch from Brad Keller to end the inning. Those three innings cost Milwaukee the game. Opie’s Ups and Downs Pete Crow-Armstrong is ‘a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.’ One minute, he can be a superstar, and the next minute, you would think he should be sent down to Triple-A Iowa. The third-year player was an All-Star this season and should win multiple Gold Glove awards. But Crow-Armstrong, who has some of the vibes of Opie Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show, is an emotional player who frequently lets those reactions get the best of him. In the first inning, he lined a two-out base hit to right that scored a pair of runs. In the bottom of the third, he was called out on a very bad check-swing strike. Manager Craig Counsell came out of the dugout to rescue him, and Justin Turner had words with him in the dugout to calm him down. In the sixth inning, Crow-Armstrong flied out to right and was screaming as he rounded first base. I understand emotions, but if the youngster wants to become the player that Cubs management thinks he can be, he needs to dial back the highs and the lows. This and That Hall of Fame hurler Fergie Jenkins led the seventh-inning stretch anthem, ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame.’ What did Isaac Collins do to anger Pat Murphy? Collins, in the running for NL Rookie of the Year, has only three at-bats in the postseason after hitting .263/.368/.411 in the regular season. Admittedly, though, he did bat .187/.318/.297 after returning from paternity leave in mid-August, and he's been worse in the field lately, too. Top Performers Jake Bauers, 2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI Sal Frelick, 1-for-3, R, SF, RBI Christian Yelich, 1-for-5, R, 2B Jackson Chourio, 1-for-4, 2B Not So Great, Bob Quinn Priester, 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K What’s on Tap? The Brewers and the Cubs meet Thursday night at Wrigley Field, with the Brewers trying to close out the NLDS and the Cubs trying to even the series at 2-2. Freddy Peralta is expected to start for Milwaukee, while Chicago will turn back to Matthew Boyd. The game starts at 8:08 PM CT. View full article

Image courtesy of © Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Pat Murphy's first move of the night backfired badly. After just four batters in the top of the first inning, the Chicago Cubs had three runs on the scoreboard, courtesy of Seiya Suzuki’s three-run blast to deep left field against lefty Aaron Ashby. The visitors' jubilation wouldn't last long, though. Not to be left out, the Brewers tied the game on Andrew Vaughn’s three-run homer in the bottom half of the inning—and would go on to add a pair of circuit clouts and use a very proficient bullpen outing to grab a 7-3 win in Game 2 of the NLDS match-up, sweeping both games in Milwaukee. Two Outs? No Problem. The Brewers got two-out singles by William Contreras and Christian Yelich in the first, before Vaughn slammed a homer to left field. In the third inning, ‘Wild Bill’ smashed a solo shot to left, taking a few seconds to admire his handiwork before starting his trot. One inning later, the Brewers put the game away, when Jackson Chourio crushed a ball off the hitter's background in center field with two outs, scoring Caleb Durbin and Joey Ortiz to run up the final tallies in the contest. Overall, the Brewers were 9-for-18 with two outs, impressive in any league. The Miz Leads the Bullpen Considering that he was doubtful to make the postseason roster, Jacob Misiorowski went above and beyond in his first playoff action, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out four in three innings; he garnered the win. Nick Mears, Chad Patrick, Jared Koenig, and Trevor Megill allowed no baserunners in 3 1/3 combined innings, while whiffing three Cubs. Abner Uribe continued his dominance by striking out the side in the ninth. Who’s Got The Best Defense? The Brewers had three web gems in the game, while the vaunted Chicago defense committed another error. With a runner on first and one out in the top of the fifth, Suzuki hit a fly ball down the right-field line. Sal Frelick got a great jump on the ball and made a fine catch in foul territory, while jumping on the wall padding in front of the right-field stands. The next batter, Ian Happ, hit a slicing foul down the left field line that a gimpy Chourio caught in foul ground, after losing his hat. Two innings later, Michael Busch hit a chopper down the first base line that Vaughn caught in foul territory and flipped to Koenig for the third out, beating the runner by a half-step. Top Performers William Contreras, 2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI Jackson Chourio, 1-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI Christian Yelich, 3-for-4, R Andrew Vaughn, 1-for-3, R, HR, 3 RBI Joey Ortiz, 2-for-4, R Jacob Misiorowski, 3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 4 K Not So Great, Bob Brice Turang, 0-for-4, K What’s On Tap? After yet another day off, the NLDS will continue at Wrigley Field on Wednesday afternoon, with the Brewers’ Quinn Priester facing Jameson Taillon of the Cubs in a Game 3 closeout opportunity. View full article

Image courtesy of © Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The team with the best record in baseball—the Milwaukee Brewers—came into today’s NLDS game showing it, as they batted around and scored six runs in the bottom of the first after Michael Busch led off the game for the Cubs with a home run. The Brewers added three more tallies in the second and cruised to a 9-3 victory in front of 42,678 fans at Uecker Field at American Family Park on a gorgeous fall Saturday afternoon. A Tale of Two Innings Trailing the Cubs 1-0 in the bottom of the initial inning, Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras hit three consecutive two-base hits off Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, giving Milwaukee a 2-1 lead. After Christian Yelich grounded out, Andrew Vaughn reached on a free pass, putting runners at first and second. Sal Frelick hit a lazy grounder to second, and in his haste to make a play, the normally sure-handed Nico Hoerner failed to get his glove down, and the ball trickled off his mitt. Frelick reached first on the E-4 and Contreras hustled home for the third run of the inning. Caleb Durbin struck out for the second out before Blake Perkins added an RBI single to left, scoring Vaughn. That marked the end of the day for Boyd, who was working on three days’ rest. Reliever Mike Soroka walked Joey Ortiz, and then Chourio knocked in two more with a base hit past a diving Dansby Swanson. Turang struck out to end the inning with the Brewers leading 6-1. The second inning started much the same as the first for the home team. Contreras, Yelich, and Vaughn all collected base hits to load the sacks. Frelick flew to left after losing his bat and almost taking out manager Pat Murphy in the dugout. Luckily, the stair railing kept Murph from getting nailed, and the Brewers skipper laughed at the near miss. Durbin then hit a flare into short center, scoring Contreras and Yeli to make the score 8-1. After a groundout and a second walk by Ortiz, Soroka left in favor of former Brewer Aaron Civale. Chourio hit a grounder to a diving Matt Shaw at third base, and ‘Chewy’ easily beat the throw but pulled up lame as Vaughn scored easily from third. After a brief moment with Murphy and the training staff, Chourio came out of the game for pinch-runner Isaac Collins. In a reprise of his first inning AB, Turang again made the third out via the K. Civale and Ben Brown pitched well the last six and one-third, allowing only four hits and two walks while whiffing six Brewers. But the damage had been done. Top Performers Jackson Chourio, 3-for-3, R, 2B, 3 RBI Brice Turang, 2-for-5, R, 2B, RBI William Contreras, 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI Blake Perkins, 2-for-4, R 2B, RBI Freddy Peralta, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K View full article

Image courtesy of Tapping the Keg Sports website The Milwaukee Brewers started playing the Chicago Cubs in 1997, Milwaukee's last year in the American League. The Cubs won two of three contests in that first season of what would become a strong, sometimes bitter, rivalry. The next year, the Brewers moved over to the National League Central, and over the 28 years since, the Brewers and Cubs have each won the NL Central crown six times. Although each team has had stretches of domination over the other, for the most part, the two squads have been evenly matched. In the overall series since 1997, the Brewers hold a slight 230-226 margin over the Cubbies. This Saturday, the Brewers and Cubs will meet for the first time in a postseason series. Over the years, many noteworthy games and moments have come from this rivalry, one of the best in baseball. Brewers fans flock to Wrigley Field, calling it 'Miller Park South.' Likewise, many Cubs partisans make the 90-mile drive north on I-94 and do their best to turn the Brewers' home park into 'Wrigley North.' Sometimes it's all in good fun, but other times, it can get more intense—just like it is on the field. Without further ado, here is my list of 10 'Top Moments' that have occurred during the rivalry, listed chronologically. June 13, 1997 In the first interleague game ever played at a National League ballpark, the Brewers defeated the Cubs 4-2 behind Jeff D'Amico's eight-inning effort, in which he allowed five hits and two runs to earn his third victory of the young season. José Valentin had a double and a home run and drove in three to lead the Brewers. A crowd of 36,107 attended the initial game of the so-called 'Border War.' The next two games saw even bigger crowds, and even though the Brewers dropped both games, a rivalry had begun. September 6, 2003 Although the Brewers lost to the Cubs, 8-4, a couple of memorable events occurred. First, the largest crowd in Miller Park history (46,218) showed up, despite the fact that the Brewers were 17 games under .500 and had no chance at making the postseason. Second was the return of Randall Simon, the same one who knocked over the Italian racing sausage by swinging a bat at the runner's suit. Simon had been with the Pirates at the time, but was traded to Chicago in August. During the game, the scoreboard announced that Simon would buy Italian sausages for all 330 fans in Section 112. "I think it was an awesome idea," Simon said of the plan suggested by a Chicago coach. "It was a nice way of saying, 'Thank you and I'm sorry,'" September 28, 2008 C.C. Sabathia pitched a complete-game four-hitter, allowing only an unearned run while whiffing seven batters, and Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie as the Brewers went on to a 3-1 win over the Cubs, clinching their first postseason berth since 1982. After the game, Braun said, "It's great for the city. Fans here have been waiting a long time." The Brewers came out on the field after celebrating, watching the Florida-New York game on the scoreboard, along with thousands of fans still in the stands. The Marlins beat the Mets, giving the Brewers a one-game edge over the Metropolitans, sending them to the playoffs. September 23, 2017 Trailing 2-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Brewers tied the game on a leadoff home run by Orlando Arcia off Cubs closer Wade Davis, sending the game to extras. In the top of the 10th, it was the Cubs who roughed up an enemy reliever, using a walk, a bunt, and an RBI single by Jon Jay off Jeremy Jeffress to put the Cubs up by a run. In the bottom half, Braun doubled with one out before Travis Shaw slammed an oppo shot off Davis into the Brewers bullpen for a 4-3 walk-off win. "It just feels good to help us win," Shaw said. June 13, 2018 At the beginning of the game, the wind was blowing out to center field at a gusty 15 mph, but Wrigley Field played more like the wind was blowing in as the only run was scored on a Lorenzo Cain home run in the third inning off Cubs starter Mike Montgomery in a 1-0 pitcher's duel, a rare sight at the 'Friendly Confines.' The Brewers managed four hits, including a pair of safeties by Cain. The Cubs knocked out six hits, led by a single and double by Javier Báez. September 4, 2018 One day after the Brewers took a 4-3 decision on a walk-off groundout by Christian Yelich against the Cubs, the Brewers ran roughshod over the Cubs in the second game of the series, blowing out their Illinois rivals by an 11-1 score. Before the game, Cubs pitcher Cole Hamels downplayed the rivalry between the two clubs. The Brewers led 3-1 in the sixth inning and exploded for eight runs across the next three innings in a laugher. After the contest, a giant (25' x 15') 'L' flag was unfurled by Brewers fans in left field. The Brewers were three games behind the Cubs in the NL Central, but that would change. September 10, 2018 Before Josh Hader was the Brewers' closer, he was a pretty darned good middle- and high-leverage guy. He had perhaps his best game at Wrigley Field, with the Brewers leading 3-2 in the seventh inning. In that frame, he struck out David Bote, Addison Russell, and Daniel Murphy on 13 pitches, with all the strikeouts being of the swinging variety. In the eighth, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo each struck out swinging on 1-2 pitches. Báez looked at strike three to end a dominating pitching performance by the long-haired lefty. Jeffress pitched the ninth for his 11th save of the season. October 1, 2018 Tied at the top of the NL Central after 162 games, the Cubs and Brewers met for an extra game to decide the winner of the division. The Brewers scored twice in the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie and took the Central title, their first since 2011. The Brewers went ahead late in the game on RBI singles by Cain and Braun, and Hader pitched the last two innings for the save in the 3-1 final. The Brewers won 17 of 22 games after facing the Cubs early in the month, including eight victories in a row to end the season. November 6, 2023 In the only 'moment' that didn't occur in a game, the Brewers' managerial dynamic changed when Craig Counsell signed a $40-million contract with the hated Cubs, leaving after nine seasons at the Milwaukee helm. Counsell won 707 games while wearing the blue and gold uniform, 144 more than second-place Phil Garner. Milwaukee appeared in five postseasons during his reign and won three NL Central titles. Upon his return to Uecker Field in 2024, Counsell was booed relentlessly. July 28-29, 2025 Not exactly a moment, but it was perhaps the point of the 2025 campaign where the Brewers displayed their dominance over the Cubs, winning a pair of games before losing the final contest of the three-game set. The Brewers promptly went on a 14-game winning streak to, for all intents and purposes, win the NL Central crown. Although the Brewers won only two times in the infamous five-game series at Wrigley in mid-August, the Brewers had enough of a lead to edge the Cubs by five games. View full article

Image courtesy of © Jeff Curry-Imagn Images When the Milwaukee Brewers take the field on Saturday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS, it will mark the seventh time in the last eight seasons that the Brewers have made it to the postseason dance, including the last three years in a row. But it wasn’t always that way. The first Brew Crew team that advanced to postseason play was the 1981 team that competed in a strike-shortened season, winning the ‘second half’ before losing to the first half winner, the New York Yankees, in five games in the ALDS. The following year, the Brewers held on for dear life, winning the AL East crown on the last day of the regular season, then coming from a 2-0 deficit in the ALCS against the California Angels to win the championship in five games. Next up was the St. Louis Cardinals, who edged Milwaukee in seven games in the so-called ‘Suds Series.’ Then came a drought of a quarter-century, ending when the 2008 Brewers—led by C.C. Sabathia, Ryan Braun, and Prince Fielder—made it to the National League Division Series before falling to the Philadelphia Phillies in four games. Three years later, the Brewers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games before coming out on the short end in six games against St. Louis in the National League Championship Series. From 2012 through 2017, the Brewers never won more than 86 games and finished in the bottom half of the NL Central four times. During the last eight seasons, the Brewers have run roughshod over the NL Central in the regular season but have gotten steamrolled in the postseason. Hopefully, this season will be different. 1981 The season was interrupted by a strike that began on June 12 and lasted until regular season play resumed on August 10. The ‘first half’ winner, New York, met the ‘second half’ winning Brewers in the AL East Division Series. The Brewers dropped two games at County Stadium, with saves going to Yankee closer Goose Gossage. Strangely, only 35,064 and 26,395 fans braved temps in the high 40s for the two games in Milwaukee. The Brewers won the first two games at Yankee Stadium, setting up Game 5, but the Yankees prevailed with a 7-3 win over the Brewers. 1982 Going into the final regular season weekend, the Brewers were leading second-place Baltimore by three games in the AL East. Milwaukee traveled to Memorial Stadium for a four-game set, including a Friday doubleheader. After the O's won the first three games, the two teams were tied going into the final match-up on Sunday. Behind Don Sutton's eight strong innings and two homers and a triple by Robin Yount, the Brewers cruised to a 10-2 victory. In the ALCS, the Brewers fell behind early, losing the two games at Anaheim Stadium before traveling east to the friendly confines of County Stadium. Milwaukee held on for a 5-3 win in Game 3, while reserve outfielder Mark Brouhard was the hero in a 9-5 Game 4 victory with three hits and four runs scored. In Game 5, the Brewers were trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh with the sacks jammed and two outs. Cecil Cooper hit a liner to left to score Charlie Moore and Jim Gantner, giving the Crew a 4-3 lead. 'Big Foot' Pete Ladd came on in the ninth in relief of Bob McClure and set the Angels down in order, sending the Brewers to their first World Series. The Brewers shellacked St. Louis 10-0 in Game 1, led by Paul Molitor's five hits and four hits by Robin Yount. Mike Caldwell provided masterful twirling by throwing a complete-game three-hit shutout. The Cards evened the Series with a 5-4 victory in Game 2 at Busch Stadium. Back at County Stadium, the Cardinals took Game 3 before the Brewers won the next two games to take a 3-2 lead in the Series. St. Louis crushed Milwaukee 13-1 at Busch and then came from behind to earn a 6-3 Game 7 win and a World Championship. That Series was the first in Brewer history, and to this point, the only one. 2008 Thanks to early July trade acquisition C.C. Sabathia and his 11 wins, seven complete games, and three shutouts, the Brewers returned to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years and were hoping to advance deep in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Phillies had other ideas, taking two wins at Citizens Bank Park with 'Lights Out' Brad Lidge earning a pair of saves. The Brewers won Game 3 at Miller Park with J.J. Hardy collecting three hits and starting pitcher Dave Bush going five strong, allowing five hits and one run. The season ended at 3 pm Sunday, October 5, with a 6-2 Phillies win. 2011 The Brewers took on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS. Each team won two games at their own park and headed back to Milwaukee for Game 5. The Brewers led 2-1 going into the top of the ninth, only to see closer John Axford give up three straight hits, scoring the tying run on a squeeze bunt single by Willie Bloomquist. It was Axford's first blown save since April 18. In the bottom of the tenth, Nyjer Morgan (aka 'Tony Plush') singled to send Carlos Gómez home with the winning run, and a massive celebration in the stands ensued. In the NLCS, the Brewers once again met the St. Louis Cardinals. The teams split at their home parks in the first four games, with Axford back on track with a pair of saves. Game 5 saw the Cardinals take an easy 7-1 win at Busch. Game 6 was a slugfest, with St Louis holding a 9-4 lead after three innings before an eerily silent crowd at Miller Park. The Brewers scored two more runs, but the Cards added three in a runaway 12-6 win and an end to the Brewers' season. 2018 In an NLDS match-up, Milwaukee swept Colorado in three games, including two shutouts. Unheralded catcher Erik Kratz led the team with five hits in eight ABs. The Brewers moved on to the NLCS, where they took on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The teams split the first four games at home, with three of the contests being one-run games. The Dodgers won Game 5 by a 5-2 margin behind Clayton Kershaw's seven-inning gem that included nine strikeouts. Milwaukee came back in Game 6 with a 7-2 win, courtesy of Jesús Aguilar's three hits and three RBIs. Although Milwaukee scored in the bottom of the first to take an early lead in Game 7, the Dodgers came back and scored five runs in the middle of the game for a 5-1 win and the NL crown. 2019 The Brewers held a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning at Nationals Park against Washington in the NLWC game after Yasmani Grandal and Eric Thames hit home runs in the first two innings to give the Brewers a slim lead. That brought in Milwaukee closer Josh Hader, who had 12 consecutive saves before suffering a blown save in the last game of the regular season. Hader had two outs in the eighth with a man on first when disaster struck. A single and a walk loaded the bases for Juan Soto, who singled to right to knock in a pair before a bobble by Trent Grisham allowed a third run to score. The Brewers had Lorenzo Cain on first at the top of the ninth, but went down meekly with a foul pop and a flyball to center. The Brewers were 'one and done.' 2020 In the extremely strange season shortened by COVID, the Milwaukee Brewers found themselves in one of four NLWC series despite a 29-31 record. Once again, the Dodgers were the opponent, with the games played at Dodger Stadium. In Game 1, LA jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings. Orlando Arcia hit a two-run shot in the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Dodgers would tack on a run in the seventh and go on to a 4-2 win. Kershaw was once again the nemesis in Game 2, as he pitched eight strong innings, allowing only three hits while striking out 13 as the Dodgers rolled to a 3-0 whitewashing, ousting the Brewers once again. 2021 The Brewers faced the Atlanta Braves in an NLDS match-up after winning 95 games in the regular season. In Game 1, the contest was scoreless going into the bottom of the seventh at Miller Park when fan favorite Rowdy Tellez hit a two-run shot to center to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead. The Braves scored in the eighth to cut the lead to 2-1, but Hader made the finish interesting, allowing a walk and a single before getting the final out in a 2-1 victory. The Brewers' offense went away in a pair of 3-0 Atlanta wins, the next two games, giving the Braves a 2-1 series lead. In Game 4, both teams scored two runs in the fourth and fifth innings, and the score was tied at four apiece until the eighth, when Freddie Freeman hit a solo homer that would be the game-winner in a 5-4 Braves win. 2023 After missing the playoffs in 2022, the Brewers hosted the Diamondbacks in 2023. In Game 1, the Brewers got on the Miller Park scoreboard early and led 3-0 after two innings on an RBI single by Carlos Santana and a two-run homer by Tyrone Taylor. The D-Backs struck in the third and fourth innings on homers by Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, and Gabriel Moreno to take a 4-3 lead. Arizona finished the scoring in the ninth on a two-run double by Christian Walker off closer Devin Williams. Game 2 started much the same, as the Brewers scored twice in the first frame on a Sal Frelick sac fly and an RBI single by Willy Adames. That would be it for the Brewers as the Diamondbacks scored one in the fifth and four times in the sixth and coasted to a 5-2 win, eliminating the Brewers. 2024 The Brewers won 93 times in manager Pat Murphy's first season and faced the New York Mets in an NLWC best-of-three series held at Miller Park. William Contreras had an RBI single, and Rhys Hoskins knocked in a run after getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the home nine a 2-0 lead in the first. The Mets responded the next inning on a two-run three-bagger by former Brewer Jesse Winker and a sacrifice fly by Starling Marte to make it 3-2. The Brewers recaptured the lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Jackson Chourio and an RBI groundout by Contreras, and led 4-3. Once again, the Mets struck in the next inning, scoring five times on RBI-singles by Jose Iglesias, Mark Vientos, and J.D. Martinez to give the Mets an 8-4 lead, which would be the final. In Game 2, the Brewers were trailing 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth when they scored three times on homers by Chourio and Garrett Mitchell to give the Brewers a 5-3 victory. In Game 3, it was looking good for the Brewers as they led 2-0 going into the ninth inning. With one out, Pete Alonso slammed a three-run homer off closer Williams, and Marte later added an RBI single to send Milwaukee to a heartbreaking 4-2 defeat. Could This Be The Year? After so many 'maybe next years,' maybe this WILL be the Brewers' year. Selected by most pundits to finish no better than third in the NL Central, the Brewers put their season into high gear after the All-Star break, taking over first place for good in the division in late July. They won 37 of their last 62 games to finish five games clear of the Chicago Cubs, who they will now take on for the first time in postseason play. The Cubs have been an up-and-down club this year, but looked pretty solid against San Diego, holding the Padres to a composite batting line of .189/.243/.305 in three games. On the downside, the Cubs only scored six runs and were shut out in Game 2. If the Brewers can sort out their starting pitching, stay healthy, and get effective relief outings, the Brewers should win this series. If Uecker Field at American Family Park becomes 'Wrigley North,' that makes it that much tougher for Milwaukee, as the Cubs fans make a lot of noise. Let's go, Brewers!!! Michael Trzinski loves Brewers history and loves to share it with his readers. Enjoy the stroll back through Milwaukee postseason baseball. View full article

Jack, great analysis as always. And I think the roster will definitely swing depending on who wins the WC series. Both teams scare me, but if we get our Sh*t together, I think we can be unstoppable!

Great piece as always, Jason. On one hand, the Padres scare me. On the other hand, the Cubs scare me. Can we find a third option? 😁