Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy had a message after his team’s second loss in two days to the Cincinnati Reds for anyone feeling uneasy about his National League Central-winning team.
“Nobody expected us to win,” Murphy said. “We don’t have the experience that would say we’re going to win, or maybe even the talent that says we’re going to win. We just have a team, and that team ended up with the best record in baseball. So I’m not going to criticize this club or anything. I’m not going to evaluate the psychological state of them in a game that, the ramifications now aren’t that great. Nobody got hurt. Hopefully, we keep going. You can’t say they weren’t excited to play. The crowd was fantastic. They started booing this team and stuff like that, and I started laughing like, ‘It’s unfortunate they don’t realize.’ And then they put up on the board in the 6th inning that we’re the No. 1 seed in baseball with the best record.”
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“You know, it’s a time that you just keep shaking your head,” Murphy continued. “The Phillies got beat at home today by a team that’s 25 games under .500, and they had a lot to play for. I credit the Reds. … They went out and did some things this year in the offseason. They went out at the trade deadline and made some huge acquisitions. We just witnessed it. Credit them. That’s the biggest thing. Don’t criticize our guys. I’m very confident in this team. We won 96 games for a reason. But it’s tricky to navigate. And now we get a week off after tomorrow. It’s tricky, especially for young players. And we’re beat up on the mound. … Give (the Reds) the credit they deserve for tonight’s win. We didn’t put it together against a team that’s real hungry and playing great.”
National League Cy Young candidate Freddy Peralta is scheduled to start the final game of the regular season against the Reds, though it’s not known how many innings he’ll pitch. Brady Singer is expected to start for the Reds.
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Pat Murphy addresses criticism of Brewers after losses to Reds