Milwaukee Brewers infielder Jake Bauers and manager Pat Murphy guided a club that dropped only five games after Labor Day and went 11-2 in October. The turnaround began with a humbling sweep in San Diego.
Speaking on MLB Network, broadcaster Lane Grindle
recalled the mood after San Diego. "I think a lot of people were a little nervous after they got swept by the Padres, but I don't think anybody inside the clubhouse was. Jake Bauers had the famous line, "Chill, watch out?" And that's what the team did."
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Milwaukee had just been swept in three games by the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, going just 3-for-28 with 12 strikeouts. The offense had gone cold, so any sign of panic seemed reasonable heading into Dodger Stadium.
Speaking to reporters in the visitors' clubhouse at Petco Park on August 12, Bauers set expectations after the sweep. "I think we need to chill the f–k out a little bit."
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Milwaukee then took three of four from the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, with right-hander Logan Henderson outdueling Tarik Skubal in that Sunday finale, pitching 7 strong innings. That series gave the Brewers a 4-3 season edge over the Dodgers.
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On MLB Network, Grindle tied the division-clinching stretch to the club's identity, calling the Brewers' focus simple and constant. "Winning is all they really care about, regardless of the circumstances."
That focus held after the Central title was clinched in Pittsburgh with over a week left. Milwaukee lost only five games from Labor Day on and won a majors-best 103, three ahead of the Dodgers. October brought the rematch.
Milwaukee beat the Padres 3-1 in the NLDS, then swept the Dodgers 4-0 in the NLCS, reversing the sweep Los Angeles had handed the Brewers in 2025. That payback set up a fitting callback at Tropicana Field.
Minutes after the Game 5 clincher at Tropicana Field, Bauers revisited the line with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Curt Hogg. "We chilled the f–k out and won the f—–g World Series."
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Milwaukee finished 11-2 in October and beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in the Fall Classic, giving the franchise its first title after 57 years. That title run leaned heavily on a deep pitching staff.
The bullpen carried 118 innings, 55.1 percent of the available total and the fourth most in playoff history. Those relievers held hitters to a .173 average and a 1.38 ERA, and no opponent scored more than 4 runs in any game.
The right-hander Jacob Misiorowski continued this pitching theme in Game 5
, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings and allowing only two hits before cramping up in his right calf. He began with 12 consecutive four-seam fastballs at 100.9 and 103 miles per hour.
Rookie Cooper Pratt broke the World Series rookie record with six straight hits, and outfielder Jackson Chourio recorded 11 hits over five games, setting a new record for a five-game World Series. With this historic performance, he also tied Babe Ruth's 98-year-old mark for the most hits through the first four games of a Fall Classic. Their production gave Murphy the cushion needed to close out the Rays in Tampa.
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The 67-year-old Murphy not only survived a heart attack back in 2020 but was also awarded the NL Manager of the Year in 2024 and 2025. His club also became the fifth 100-win team to eliminate the reigning champions in October, joining the 2018 Red Sox.
The title also arrives as owners push for a salary cap, with a lockout likely to begin December 2. Milwaukee ranked 19th in payroll on August 31, and the Rays 25th, the first Series between bottom-half payrolls since 1991.
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