This year’s version of the Milwaukee Brewers has done the exact opposite of last season’s squad, starting off 5-1 instead of a dreadful 0-4. Of course, everything turned out quite well in 2025, with the Brewers boasting the best record in baseball with the most wins in their franchise’s history at 97-65. Who knows what the rest of 2026 brings? Undeniably, though, it feels so much better to match the optimism of Opening Day with the results on the field.

Milwaukee has jumped out to a great start, in part, because they’ve had the best or second-best six-game open to a season in Brewers’ history in five categories. Everything can change in an instant, but it’s worth appreciating the early production.

 

Strikeouts Pitching
The Brewers’ pitching staff has 76 strikeouts through the first six games, easily the most in club history. They have at least 11 punchouts in five games, and eight in the other. Ironically, the 2019 squad is second with 65 strikeouts (as are the 2020 and 2021 squads). As noted in a previous article, Milwaukee’s strategy of relying on a largely inexperienced starting rotation this season mirrors that 2019 team’s.

Interestingly, this year’s staff is split almost down the middle by role: Relievers have 37 and starters have 39, with Misiorowski’s 18 in two starts pacing the rotation. The 2019 squad saw its starters take on a larger share, with 39 punchouts against the pen’s 26 to the same point. Either way, if the Brewers can continue this early trend, run prevention will reign in Milwaukee

Fewest Errors
Speaking of run prevention, it’s helpful when your defense commits zero errors in the first six games, as well. Though errors are not the standard to measure all defense by, turning the routine outs into actual outs goes a long way in keeping teams off the board. Only the 2000 Brewers started a season’s first five contests without an error in franchise history, and unlike this club, they committed their first flub in game No. 6.

The Brewers are built around defense, and it helps that fewer balls are in play thanks to the barrage of strikeouts. Entering play on Wednesday, the combined record of the five errorless teams in the league was 17-8.

Stolen Bases
You probably heard this a few times on the broadcast, but the 2026 Brewers own the most stolen bases over the first six games in club history, with 15. The 1992 team, which held the previous mark with 14, owns the franchise record with 256 steals in a season. That club led MLB that year, with 48 more thefts than the next-highest total

Among the 15 stolen bases to start this season, seven players have already taken a bag, with five of them stealing two or more. David Hamilton leads the team with four, and the Brewers have only been thrown out one time in their 16 attempts.

Offensive Walks
Milwaukee has drawn 31 walks in its first six contests, tied for the second-best start in franchise history. The 1998 squad holds the top spot with 33 walks. The 2026 lineup has at least two free passes in every game and five or more walks in four of the contests. As of Wednesday morning, they were second in walk rate in MLB, at 14.5%.

Much has been made of the Brewers’ “woodpecker” mentality and their discipline in refusing to chase pitches outside the zone. The high number of walks in recent years (they finished fourth and third in walks the past two seasons, respectively) is one of the key results that Milwaukee’s offense utilizes to pressure the opponent and score at a high clip.

Run Differential

This is often a statistic people look at to determine the quality of a team, though small samples should always be kept in mind. Regardless, the Brewers’ +28 run differential after six games is the second-best in team history—though well behind the 1978 club that sat at +33. That team finished the season with the best run differential in MLB.

Milwaukee currently has the best run differential in baseball, thanks to the only loss being by one run. They have also scored at least six runs in five of the games. A 14-2 blowout on Opening Day certainly helps. But, let’s not forget, last season the Brewers had the best run differential in MLB, as well, en route to the best record in baseball, so not much has changed in the very early going.

Does this hot start and top-of-the-franchise statistical beginning mean a lot going forward? Maybe not. But it’s a lot better than talking about how ugly a season looks five games after another long winter.