Robert Gasser’s October workload is about to get heavier, and the Brewers know it. Milwaukee closed out San Diego with a 3-1 Game 4 win in the National League Division Series, then turned its attention to a best-of-seven NL Championship Series against the Dodgers. For Gasser, the path there included four steady innings, a first-inning escape and a confidence boost from bullpen catcher Ty Duvall.
Key takeaways
- Milwaukee advanced past the Padres by taking Game 4, 3-1, and will open the NLCS against Los Angeles on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
- Gasser allowed one run across four innings after surviving a bases-loaded first inning.
- A pregame text from bullpen catcher Ty Duvall helped Gasser quiet his own doubts before the outing.
- Gasser is one of the Brewers’ few remaining starters prepared to work beyond 100 pitches in the next round.
- The left-hander posted a 3.87 ERA over 21 regular-season appearances, including 20 starts, and finished especially strong.
Gasser gives Milwaukee a needed October start
The Brewers will need starting-pitching length as the postseason shifts from a five-game series to a seven-game test. Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson sit at the front of Milwaukee’s current rotation picture, while Gasser has moved into an important role behind them. Right-hander Dustin May has struggled to find a consistent rhythm, and although Shane Drohan and Kyle Harrison give the club left-handed depth, neither joins Gasser as a fully built-out option for a 100-plus-pitch assignment.
Manager Pat Murphy said the club needs another arm to emerge alongside its top options. He pointed to Gasser’s recent work while also crediting the pitching staff for helping keep the Brewers supplied with contributors.
Gasser put himself in that conversation with a sharp finish to the regular season. In 21 games, 20 of them starts, he recorded a 3.87 ERA. From Aug. 26 forward, he owned a 1.67 ERA over six outings, including five starts.
His Game 4 assignment against San Diego carried more weight than his postseason appearances a year earlier. Gasser had made the playoff roster after recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2024, working in lower-pressure spots against the Cubs in the Division Series and the Dodgers in the NLCS. His most memorable moment then came in Game 3 against Los Angeles, when he struck out Shohei Ohtani with two runners on in the eighth inning. Milwaukee, however, was trailing by three runs and went on to lose 5-1.
Wednesday was different. The Padres loaded the bases in the opening inning after third baseman Joey Ortiz could not complete a possible double-play chance. Gasser kept the damage under control, then settled in for four innings of one-run ball. Aaron Ashby followed with three scoreless frames, preserving the lead and helping send Milwaukee forward.
Ashby said Gasser established the game’s early tone in what felt like his first truly essential postseason appearance. The reliever acknowledged Gasser’s work last October but stressed that this outing arrived with the Brewers needing him to hold a postseason lead.
A bullpen catcher’s timely message
In the clubhouse celebration, Gasser made sure Duvall received his share of the credit. Duvall, 29, is in his first season as Milwaukee’s bullpen catcher after being selected by Seattle in the 25th round of the 2019 Draft and spending time in the Mariners’ minor league system.
The night before Game 4, Duvall sent Gasser a lengthy message of support. Gasser said Duvall’s conviction and belief landed at exactly the right moment, adding that work like that can go unnoticed inside a major league season.
Duvall sees pitchers from a different angle than most staff members. While coaches study delivery, movement and pitch shape, the bullpen catcher receives every bullpen session and can sense when a pitcher’s stuff has a different edge. He said Gasser had thrown pitches in recent work that made him think the left-hander had reached another level.
But Duvall also knows Gasser can be hard on himself. The pitcher holds demanding standards and can become frustrated when catch play or his daily work does not meet them. Duvall’s essential reminder was simple: with a hostile crowd already ready to challenge him, Gasser did not need to become another voice against himself.
To make the point, Duvall sent Gasser a widely shared Instagram clip featuring a young rider who begins a dirt-bike race uncertain, then repeats encouragement to himself after hearing his mother tell him he can do it. Gasser said the message was what he needed before taking the mound.
That kind of self-talk matters in October, especially for a pitcher whose route to Milwaukee has included injury, trade history and a sudden rise in responsibility. Gasser arrived in the 2022 Trade Deadline deal that sent Josh Hader away, with Taylor Rogers, Dinelson Lamet and Esteury Ruiz also coming to the Brewers. Ruiz was later moved in the three-team transaction that brought All-Star catcher William Contreras to Milwaukee.
Milwaukee’s roster has continued to evolve through the departures of players such as Hader, Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams and Freddy Peralta, yet the club again finds itself playing deep into October. Gasser is part of that renewal. As the Dodgers series begins, the Brewers will be counting on his arm, his endurance and the steady voice behind the bullpen plate reminding him to trust himself.
