Brewers Embrace New Mindset Ahead of NLCS Rematch with Dodgers

MILWAUKEE – With the National League Championship Series rematch against the Los Angeles Dodgers looming, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy has adopted a markedly different tone than in their previous playoff encounter.

Last year, Murphy’s attempt at false humility, suggesting the Dodgers couldn't name eight players on his roster, backfired. The Brewers were swept in four games by the eventual World Series champions. This time, Murphy is discarding the underdog narrative.

“We want to kick their butts,” Murphy stated unequivocally. He expressed regret for his previous comments, attributing the team's poor performance last year partly to his own words.

"I'm sorry I played that underdog card," Murphy said. "I probably shouldn’t have played that, used that as an excuse for why we didn’t play well. I don’t care who the underdog is. I don’t care who the favorite is. It’s about getting in the ring and fighting it out."

The Brewers enter this series having achieved a franchise-record 103 wins in the regular season. However, questions persist about their unconventional offense, which led the league in batting average but ranked low in home runs. The team also faces challenges in its starting pitching rotation beyond ace Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson.

Misiorowski is slated to start Game 1, having previously limited the Dodgers to one run over six innings in a victory on Aug. 15. He will face Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal. The Dodgers are expected to have a significant advantage in starting pitching for subsequent games, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow slated to pitch.

Murphy, a two-time manager of the year, acknowledged the potential for familiarity to benefit his team. "You fight a guy once and you fight him the second time, you should have a better idea," he said. "Everything’s different. The guy is a little different that you’re fighting the second time, even though it’s the same person. They’ve got a different strategy, maybe different personnel."

Despite the daunting pitching matchup, Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich echoed Murphy's sentiment about the importance of playing the games rather than focusing on perceived odds. "Look, if you want to play who’s favored in this series, it’s probably not us, but it doesn’t matter," Yelich said. "It’s the same thing in spring training when we’re the team that’s never picked to win the division or be the postseason team. It doesn’t matter who people say is favored or not favored because you have to go play the games."

Murphy also drew parallels to boxing, emphasizing execution and playing to their strengths. "We’re still going to pitch to our strengths. It’s like any other fight. Styles matter, but we can only do what we can do. I can’t all of a sudden become a counterpuncher if I’m Mike Tyson, and they can’t be Muhammad Ali if all year they fought like George Foreman."