BALTIMORE — With the regular-season finish line in sight, the Brewers are treating every bullpen session, side conversation and pitching decision as October preparation. Manager Pat Murphy spent more than an hour Saturday with his pitching staff, working through a roster puzzle that has no easy answers despite Milwaukee carrying one of the league’s best run-prevention groups.
The club entered Saturday’s game against the Orioles with a 3.59 ERA, second in Major League Baseball behind only the Yankees. That has been a remarkable return from a young staff, but the final week is forcing the Brewers to sort through a few rough patches before the National League Division Series.
Pitching staff works through final-week decisions
- Murphy and the pitching group discussed Dustin May, whose raw stuff has looked strong even as his recent outings have gone sideways.
- They also considered whether Kyle Harrison can regain a place in the postseason picture after a severe four-appearance skid.
- The staff evaluated which young starters could be useful as relief options once the postseason begins.
- Milwaukee has not named its starters for its final regular-season road series, a three-game set beginning Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
Logan Henderson is not lined up to pitch until Wednesday, Murphy said. That leaves open the possibility that May could return on short rest for the series opener against the Phillies.
May threw 70 pitches while recording seven outs against Baltimore on Friday. His difficult third inning included 37 pitches to get only one out, yet the Brewers remain focused less on his physical tools than on how he is deploying them.
“We’re putting ideas on the table and looking for answers in the small details,” Murphy said.
May searching for the right finish
May believes his stuff is close to where it needs to be. His frustration comes from failing to finish hitters once he gets ahead or reaches two-strike situations.
“I want to believe I’m close,” May said after Friday’s outing. “The ball is coming out well, but I’m not putting hitters away late in the count.”
Murphy sees a potential path forward because May has multiple weapons available. The question is whether the right pitch is being selected at the right moment, and whether the sequence is working against the hitter in the box.
During the relievers’ pregame work Saturday, May spent roughly a half-hour in a separate conversation with pitching coach Chris Hook. The right-hander said he feels physically sound and trusts the quality of his arsenal, but knows those strengths must translate into better decisions and execution during games.
“It is really frustrating because I feel good and believe my pitches are in a good place,” May said. “I’m not executing, or I’m not choosing the right pitch for the situation. The tools are there. Now I have to make it happen when the game is on.”
Harrison faces a different challenge
Harrison’s problem is less about pitch selection and more about restoring the sharpness that carried him through the first half. His velocity has come back, but the movement and overall characteristics of his pitches have not been as crisp.
The recent results have been especially hard: Harrison has allowed 21 earned runs on 27 hits across seven innings in his last four appearances. Murphy said that kind of stretch has clearly tested the young pitcher’s confidence.
There is no simple extra pitch to hand Harrison, as Murphy put it. The Brewers instead must determine whether there is enough time and enough progress to bring him back into the October conversation.
The October roster remains unsettled
Milwaukee appears to be leaning toward the same postseason balance it used in last year’s Division Series against the Cubs: 12 pitchers and 14 position players. The task now is identifying the right dozen.
Murphy praised what the younger arms have supplied around established pitchers Quinn Priester, Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff. He acknowledged that the staff has hit some bumps late, but said the overall achievement should not be lost in the concern over the final days of the schedule.
“It’s amazing what that young group has done,” Murphy said. “There may be a few flat tires right now, but it has still been amazing.”
For Milwaukee, the final week is not simply about getting to October. It is about finding the version of the pitching staff that can win there. Murphy’s message to the club was simple: postseason baseball has a way of wiping away the previous body of work, and teams have to be ready to remake themselves when the calendar turns.
