This week has felt … strange.
Normally, the Milwaukee Brewers’ season is just wrapping up, albeit in heartbreaking fashion. While they have won the NL Central three years running, this season is the first of those instances in which the Crew earned a first-round bye, meaning it was one of four teams across Major League Baseball to receive a pass into the divisional round.
Dave Radcliffe
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Perhaps that’s why my excitement has waned. Or perhaps I’m afraid to let my guard down again based on recent postseason performances, like the listless showing against the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 and the late collapse in Game 3 of the NL wild-card round against the New York Mets, just to name a few.
That disappointment is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Milwaukee’s history in the postseason. Of course, that history was minuscule up until 2018, as the Brewers had made the playoffs just three times prior in franchise history. Since then, the Crew has made the second season seven times, showing we truly are in the golden age of Brewers baseball.
While making the playoffs is great and all, it’s only natural as fans to want more, especially considering Milwaukee hasn’t won a playoff series since 2018 when Christian Yelich was the MVP of the league and it reached the NLCS, ultimately falling in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Those same Dodgers look like their world-beating selves again after a rather ho-hum regular season, but I suppose when your payroll is $350 million it’s easy to become complacent. Fortunately, the Brewers don’t have to play either the Dodgers or the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS — those two teams face off beginning on Saturday.
Speaking of Saturday, that’s when Milwaukee plays its first game since Sunday when it wrapped up the regular season and set a new franchise record for wins with 97, the most across baseball. But aside from that victory, the Brewers didn’t exactly enter the postseason guns blazing.
On the surface, that may not instill confidence in the fan base. But the team was dealing with injury after injury to key contributors, most notably losing starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff to what seems like a season-ending lat strain. As of Thursday, it remained unclear whether or not Woody would be on the postseason roster.
Thankfully, the Brewers did get back relief pitchers DL Hall and Trevor Megill during the final weekend of the regular season, providing some desperately needed depth in the bullpen. Jose Quintana would also seem on track to start a game in the NLDS, most likely Game 3 next week with Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester lined up to start the first two contests. The “X” factor is Jacob Misiorowski, who burst onto the scene in June, became an All-Star after just five starts and was recently relegated to the bullpen after several lackluster outings to close the year.
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All that being said, pitching hasn’t been the issue when it comes to the Brewers and their playoff woes over the past couple of years — it’s been the inability to slug at the plate and produce enough runs, especially after falling behind.
But there’s isn’t much doubt that Milwaukee has its most complete team dating back to 2018.
Only the aforementioned Dodgers and the New York Yankees, who play in the sandbox known as Yankee Stadium, scored more runs during the 2025 season than the Brewers, who set another franchise record by winning 14 straight games, not to mention ran off win streaks of 11 and eight games. And while Yelich and Jackson Chourio were the only Brewers to hit north of 20 home runs, eight reached double- digit dingers when you include midseason acquisition Andrew Vaughn, who had nine with Milwaukee and five with the Chicago White Sox.
It’s because of Vaughn, as well as a lengthy stay on the shelf, that Rhys Hoskins may find himself on the outside looking in for a playoff roster spot.
So the Brewers seemingly have the arms (2nd in MLB in ERA), the bats (3rd in MLB in runs scored) and the defense (10th in MLB in fielding percentage) to get off the schneid and finally win at least one playoff series. But I can’t help but think about the way this team ended the regular season and whether or not the Uecker magic it bottled (and the pancakes manager Pat Murphy pocketed) during those winning streaks has been lost.
There’s also the concern of rest vs. rust and if the weeklong layoff will be a determinant. But the way I see it, you can throw momentum out the window when you have five off days in a row, and the Brewers weren’t exactly riding a high come Game 162.
There’s also the positive of using this time to get healthier, refocus and recharge the batteries, while the wildcard series between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs went three games, perhaps leaving the winner, who faces Milwaukee in the NLDS, at less than 100% in more ways than one.
Whichever way you spin it, at the end of the day, the Brewers have to go get it done on the field. For all the success this team experienced during the regular season, it’s all for naught if it’s another one-and-done stay in the playoffs — even though Milwaukee’s payroll of $121 million is at least $90 million below every team left standing in the National League.
So how do I feel about the Brewers’ chances come Saturday and beyond? Honestly, I’m not sure how to feel, as I can’t shake the strangeness of it all. But anything can happen in baseball, and I’ll be pulling for the Crew like always, hoping for the best.
Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio (11) celebrates with teammates shortstop Joey Ortiz, center, and second baseman Brice Turang after the Brewers defeated the San Diego Padres 3-1 in a baseball game on Sept. 24 in San Diego.