Milwaukee opens its National League Division Series on Saturday night carrying the best record in baseball for a second straight season, but the Brewers insist they are done presenting themselves as a surprise story. Pat Murphy’s club expects to be playing for the World Series, and it believes a deeper, steadier clubhouse gives it a better chance to break through.
Game 1 is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET at American Family Field, with coverage on FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX One. It is the start of another October run for a Brewers team that has reached the postseason nine times without advancing to the Fall Classic.
“We’re not playing the underdog role anymore,” Murphy said. “We’ve shown what we’ve shown the last few years. We may be young, but nobody is going to treat us like an underdog.”
A familiar formula, with a higher target
The route to this point has looked much like Milwaukee’s recent seasons. The Brewers moved All-Star starter Freddy Peralta before he neared free agency, adding prospects while protecting the payroll and replenishing the system. They again outperformed preseason expectations, took the NL Central and leaned heavily on young everyday players alongside an even younger pitching group.
What the Brewers want changed is the ending. Recent Milwaukee clubs have won division races and banked regular-season victories, only to see October close before a World Series berth arrived. Murphy pointed to the lessons from the past two postseasons: a strong 2024 club that did not finish the job, followed by the majors’ winningest team earning a bye, beating the Cubs in an emotional Division Series and then being unable to slow a hot Dodgers club in the NLCS.
Murphy knows the tournament is not always fair to the strongest roster. He said a postseason game can turn in three pitches, and that the best regular-season club does not automatically take home the championship. Still, he believes this group is better equipped to absorb trouble and answer it quickly.
Milwaukee needs 11 wins to claim the World Series. Murphy said the task begins with a simple conviction: only one club earns that celebration, but every player must enter October believing it can be his team.
Winning late, without one formula
Inside the Brewers’ room, the difference is described as a greater ability to stay in a game until the final out. Players who entered recent postseasons with limited experience are no longer quite so new, and the club feels more comfortable trusting each person to handle his own assignment rather than attempting to create a hero on every pitch.
That belief has shown up in the variety of ways Milwaukee has won. The Brewers do not rely on one nightly script. On some nights it has been a late pitch, on others a baserunner creating pressure or a hitter producing the big swing. The club’s view is that October belongs to teams that handle those decisive moments.
Offense and strategy coordinator Jason Lane said Milwaukee’s playoff approach will center on execution, especially in the small moments that can tilt a close game. A missed pitcher-fielding-play assignment, he noted, can quickly push a postseason game out of reach.
Lane sees a lineup with multiple ways to apply pressure: patience that produces walks, speed on the bases and enough power spread throughout the order to change a score with one swing. He also cited the club’s ability to avoid becoming overly stacked with either right- or left-handed hitters, limiting the opportunities for opposing bullpens to exploit a matchup-heavy inning.
Experience has changed the room
The Brewers’ veterans and younger players have pointed to a more connected clubhouse as another reason this October feels different. Players who were rookies a year ago now have postseason experience, while those with two or three seasons in the majors have become more established voices. The veterans, in turn, have helped guide them through the tense stretches.
The group has also tried to keep the room light. A portable craps table has become a clubhouse fixture, while a dice game modeled after horse racing has filled recent downtime. The game includes trumpet music before each race, a small bit of theater that has helped bring together players from across the roster.
That camaraderie is not being treated as a side story. Players believe a postseason club cannot be a collection of individuals chasing separate goals. They see accountability, shared expectations and trust as central to the way they play, from the front office through Murphy’s staff and into the clubhouse.
Murphy said this Brewers team appears more relaxed than some of its predecessors, less likely to let minor frustrations grow into larger problems. The challenge now is carrying that confidence into a format with little margin for error.
Milwaukee has the division title, the league’s top regular-season record and another chance at October. Starting Saturday night, the Brewers will find out whether their familiar formula can finally produce an unfamiliar finish.
