3 storylines from the Milwaukee Brewers' memorable May 2026 stretch

The Milwaukee Brewers wrapped an incredible month of May with a series win over the Houston Astros yesterday afternoon. Said series win was the seventh that the Brewers collected during the month of May; they split a two-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals and lost two out of three to the Los Angeles Dodgers over Memorial Day Weekend, but won every other series during the month of May.

Milwaukee's 19-7 record during May was the best in MLB and moved them from fourth in a competitive NL Central to the top of the division with a 4.5-game lead. The month included sweeps of the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals and represented a solid improvement from the 15-13 record that they posted in the month of May last year.

After going 12-13 during the month of April, the Brew Crew needed a bounceback month of May and thanks to some standout performances and the returns of several key contributors, that's just what they got. While the memorable month included plenty of highlights for the first-place Crew, here are three storylines that really stuck out during the second full month of the 2026 season.

Jacob Misiorowski leads Milwaukee's starting rotation to the best ERA in MLB during the month of May

A large reason for the Brewers' dominance during the month of May was an excellent performance from their starting rotation. Seven different Brewers made starts during the month of May: Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, Logan Henderson, Brandon Sproat, Chad Patrick, Robert Gasser, and Coleman Crow. As a unit, that cohort posted a 2.41 ERA -- the best mark in baseball during the month of May.

Leading the way was Misiorowski, who has been downright dominant over the last month. The 24-year-old flame-thrower made six starts during the month of May and posted a ridiculous 0.23 ERA over the course of 38.1 innings. Put more simply, Misiorowski allowed just one earned run during the entire month despite averaging more than six and a third innings per start. He struck out 57 batters while issuing just six walks. Any way you spin in it, the Miz was incredible during the month of May and he carried a Brewers' rotation that was the best in baseball.

Not to be overlooked, however, is the performance that the rest of the starting rotation put together. Miz's right-hand man -- or rather, left-hand man -- was Harrison, who also posted a sub-1.00 ERA during the month of May. Harrison maintained a 0.96 ERA in five starts during the month, covering 28 innings and striking out 31 opposing batters in the process.

Meanwhile, two rookie right-handers, Logan Henderson and Coleman Crow, also played important roles on the Brewers' starting staff during the month of May. Henderson, who has since landed on the IL due to a lower back injury, posted a 2.14 ERA in four starts while filling in for the injured Brandon Woodruff. Crow, meanwhile, earned just two spot starts, but surrendered three earned runs in nine total innings, and the Brewers won each of the two games he started.

Overall, Milwaukee's stellar May couldn't have happened without the efforts of their starting rotation, which, despite dominating the competition throughout May, consisted only of players who have less than two years of MLB service time.

Brewers' offense returns to full strength as Jackson Chourio, Andrew Vaughn, and Christian Yelich all return to the lineup

On May 1, the Brewers' offense lacked three of their key contributors: Jackson Chourio, Andrew Vaughn, and Christian Yelich. Both Chourio and Vaughn missed the entirety of April after the former landed on the IL just hours before the first pitch on Opening Day, and the latter joined him there before the Brewers' second game of the season. However, the duo simultaneously returned to Milwaukee's lineup on May 4 and instantly added a spark to what had become a rather lifeless offensive unit.

Despite still settling into the season after a hairline fracture in his left hand forced him to miss the first five weeks of the campaign, Chourio is maintaining a decent .721 OPS and already has seven doubles to his name in his first 22 games. Notoriously a second-half player throughout his professional career, Chourio's production should only improve as his timing improves throughout the summer.

Meanwhile, Vaughn, despite not yet displaying the power that he did last year, which could certainly be a result of the hamate bone fracture he suffered in late March, is still finding ways to be an effective piece of the Brewers' offense. Though he boasts just one homer through his first 20 games of the 2026 season, Vaughn holds a .344 batting average and a .420 on-base percentage while also already having seven doubles to his name.

One week after Chourio and Vaughn's reintroduction to the Brewers' lineup, Yelich made a quick return from the IL, and Milwaukee's lineup reached full strength for the first time in the season. Though Yelich has crushed three homers and still has an OPS north of .700 since returning from the IL, his timing isn't quite synced up yet, and the result has been a lackluster .276 on-base percentage in May.

Even still, Yelich's return to the lineup, and Chourio and Vaughn's for that matter, has completely revamped the Brewers' offense, and though some players may not yet be meeting expectations, it's exciting to think of what this group could become when everything is firing on all cylinders.

Chad Patrick's switch to the bullpen completely reshapes Brewers' relief corps for the better

As previously mentioned, the 27-year-old Patrick, who was a breakout arm for the Brewers last year, began the month in Milwaukee's rotation. However, in the second week of May, Pat Murphy and the Brewers made the decision to switch Patrick to a different role -- one that included him spending most of his time in the bullpen and making the occasional short start.

The switch has been a stroke of genius from the Brewers' coaching staff. Not only has Patrick himself seen a vast improvement in his numbers and underlying metrics since converting into a reliever, but the change has also brought relief to the rest of Milwaukee's 'pen. Patrick still has yet to surrender a run when pitching in relief, and in his one start since the role change, he allowed just one run in four innings and claimed that treating the outing like a bullpen appearance helped his performance.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Brewers' bullpen is benefiting from Patrick's addition to the group as well. Since Patrick's first relief appearance back on May 9, the Brewers' bullpen has posted a 2.59 ERA that ranks sixth in all of baseball.

Aaron Ashby continues to impress with an MLB-leading nine wins and a team-high 26 appearances, while maintaining a 2.00 ERA. Shane Drohan was a key addition to the Brewers' bullpen in the month of May and is slated to start tonight's series opener against the San Francisco Giants. Meanwhile, the resurgence of Trevor Megill, who collected four saves and two holds in May, has been huge for Murphy and the Brewers, who can now seemingly turn to either him or Abner Uribe to close out games.

Taken together, the performance from the starting rotation, led by Misiorowski and Harrison, the improvement from the offense, caused in part by the returns of Chourio, Vaughn, and Yelich, and the new-look bullpen with Patrick and Drohan, the Brewers dominated the month of May and look to keep the momentum rolling in June. They will begin the new month with a four-game series against the struggling San Francisco Giants at American Family Field.

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