Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Milwaukee Brewers enter Sunday's game on a four-game losing streak but remain two games over .500 and within striking distance in the NL Central.
- Manager Pat Murphy is emphasizing patience and perspective, echoing the approach of his predecessor, Craig Counsell.
- Murphy's leadership has already proven effective, as he has won back-to-back NL Manager of the Year awards and led the Brewers to the best record in MLB in 2025
The Milwaukee Brewers have lost four straight games heading into Sunday's action. However, thanks to a hot start, they remain two games over .500 and well within striking distance of the NL Central-leading Pittsburgh Pirates in the early going. One noticeable flaw in the Brewers losing ways has been their lack of situational hitting. The Washington Nationals entered their series against Milwaukee with the worst ERA in baseball, but have held the Brewers to just six hits in the first 18 innings of play between the two teams. This has gone on long enough.
Per MLB.com, the Brewers are hitting .124 (15-for-121) during their four-game losing streak. Combine that with their 1-for-23 mark with runners in scoring position in the same stretch, and it's easy to see why they're losing games. Yet, if you ask Murphy, this is no reason to panic. In fact, he sounds a lot like his predecessor Craig Counsell.
Pat Murphy sounds a lot like Craig Counsell when preaching Brewers patience
Even in defeat, Murphy does a great job at keeping this season in perspective. There are bound to be tough stretches over the course of a 162-game season.
“Some tough ones,” Murphy said on Saturday. “But you’ve got to get through this period, you’ve got to stay with your team. You’ve got to try to let this be a time that really helps us. We can really show our character when things aren’t going well.”
What Murphy said is essentially manager-speak for 'chill out'. Brewers fans don't want to hear it, but it's helpful to the clubhouse to know the walls aren't caving in after just 12 games.
“Everybody is trying to help the team win in whatever situation we have,” Luis Rengifo said. “You have to stay positive and see what happens in the next game. It’s a tough game. The result is not there, but we have a lot of confidence. We have a good group. We will figure it out.”
As for how this relates to Counsell, his tone is much the same as Murphy's. In fact, Counsell's Cubs are going through their own struggles, having lost two straight games to those pesky Pirates.
“Look, it’s going to turn,” Counsell said. “It’s going to happen.”
There's a reason Brewers replaced Craig Counsell with Pat Murphy
When Counsell left his hometown Brewers for the rival Cubs in 2023, the fanbase was devastated. Heck, Counsell still gets routinely booed every time Chicago visits what Cubs fans like to call 'Wrigley North' throughout the season. Leaving Milwaukee and a frustrating front office behind for more money is one thing. Heading to their division rivals over other competitive offers is another.
However, there was also a reason the Brewers didn't match the offer the Cubs eventually made for Counsell, which pays him more than any manager in baseball. Matt Arnold knew Murphy was waiting in the wings, having served as Counsell's bench coach for a number of seasons.
Since then, Murphy has only proven the Brewers right. He won back-to-back NL Manager of the Year awards, and led Milwaukee to the best record in MLB last season.
Season | Record | Manager |
|---|---|---|
2023 | 92-70 | Craig Counsell |
2024 | 93-69 | Pat Murphy |
2025 | 97-65 | Pat Murphy |
The Brewers didn't fall off a cliff without Counsell. They got even better, and committed to their way of doing business, even if that means spending less money than big-market organizations like the Cubs. Murphy is committed to the bit, as well, and took some of the lessons he learned from Counsell along the way.
So far, he's applied those lessons to perfection.