Brewers news: Joey Ortiz injury update, Robert Gasser's final tune-up, bullpen usage

Other than staying sharp for their much-anticipated postseason run, the Milwaukee Brewers truly don't have anything to play for during their final regular season series against the St. Louis Cardinals. It's a rarity, especially for a perennial contender like the Brewers, that games at the end of the season truly have no impact on postseason seeding, but with the best record in baseball already locked up, Milwaukee can't change their playoff position during their final three games of the regular season.

However, that "nothing to play for" mentality wasn't anywhere to be found in Pat Murphy's squad last night. From the first inning, when All-Star catcher William Contreras, who was punished for his lack of hustle in Milwaukee's 100th win of the season on Thursday night, sprinted down the first-base line on a routine groundout to shortstop and slid headfirst into the bag. Though Contreras was certainly sending a silent message to his manager, the Brewers' backstop downplayed the event after the game, explaining, through team translator Daniel de Mondesert, that he was simply thinking, "Play hard. Play hard like Milwaukee wants me to...doing my job."

It wasn't just Contreras' point-proving hustle in the first that evidenced the Brewers' intensity in what some might consider a meaningless game, and Murphy certainly took notice. In his post-game interview, the Brewers' manager, when commenting on the team's intensity, said, "I think anytime you're playing in the division...it brings out the best in you." It's an encouraging sign that Murphy's squad can't help but play with an admirable intensity, even when there's essentially nothing on the line. It speaks not only to the infectious desire to win that Murphy possesses, but also to the respect that his team has for one another, knowing it would be a disservice to their teammates not to do whatever it takes to win.

And yet, it wasn't all good news for the first-place Brewers on Friday night. Despite a dominant outing from Robert Gasser and a very "Brewersy" performance from the offense, who plated eight runs on 12 hits, starting third baseman Joey Ortiz left the game with an injury, which left fans worried about the surging infielder. Let's take a closer look at three headlines that emerged from Friday night's win over the Cardinals.

Joey Ortiz exits Friday night's series opener with lingering knee soreness, negative X-rays revealed it's a bruise

The Brewers placed Andrew Vaughn on the injured list prior to Friday night's series opener against St. Louis -- a move caused by a lingering illness that has not improved throughout the week. Vaughn, however, was placed on the 10-day IL retroactively to September 22, meaning he is eligible and expected to return to the Brewers' roster before Game 1 of the NLDS on October 3.

That said, the roster move temporarily worried a Brewers fanbase that is praying for no injuries in the final days before their postseason run. Fans' fears once again spiked in the eighth inning of last night's game, when, in the middle of the frame, Ortiz exited with an athletic trainer while walking with a noticeable limp.

After the game, Murphy revealed that Ortiz is dealing with a lingering knee injury he sustained in Philadelphia, and only played Friday night's game due to the fact that Cooper Pratt, who eventually replaced him, was battling an illness. Murphy also revealed that Ortiz has already undergone imaging, and the X-rays revealed no structural damage. It's a bruise, and one that is likely to keep Ortiz away from the field on Saturday night, and possibly Sunday's season finale as well.

However, based on the report and the tone of Murphy's postgame press conference, it sounds like Ortiz's postseason availability is not in jeopardy, but that the five days off between the final game of the regular season and Milwaukee's first playoff game will be especially important for the Brewers' third baseman.

Robert Gasser spins a gem in final tune-up before postseason

The Brewers' postseason rotation is not yet set in stone, nor is the postseason pitching staff for that matter. However, it's expected that southpaw Robert Gasser, who has a 2.50 ERA in his last seven starts, will play an important role in Milwaukee's hopefully lengthy postseason run. Gasser, who didn't find his footing until the second half of the season, is hitting his stride at the perfect moment and once again impressed in his final performance of the 2026 regular season.

Gasser covered six innings on 87 pitches last night and allowed just one hit and one earned run. Said run came on one mistake, which Cardinals' DH Iván Herrera sent over the left-center fence into the Brewers' bullpen. Gasser also set a new career-high with nine strikeouts in last night's start.

The performance comes on the heels of Gasser's seven-inning, 107-pitch start against the Baltimore Orioles last weekend, and continues what has been an incredible stretch for the 27-year-old southpaw. The Brewers are still determining just how they want to use their starting pitchers in the postseason, but Gasser is certainly stating his case for the start in Game 3 of the NLDS, assuming Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson start Games 1 and 2.

Manager Pat Murphy explains late-game bullpen decision as Kyle Harrison postseason roster decision looms

It wasn't just Pat Murphy's squad that was aggressive on Friday night; the manager's late-game bullpen decisions were as well. Murphy went to Abner Uribe with the game tied in the top of the eighth inning and, after the Brewers scored four in the bottom of the frame, sent All-Star closer Trevor Megill to the mound for the ninth. In a normal regular season game, in which the outcome impacts the Brewers' position in the postseason, the decision would make complete sense -- Murphy often turned to Megill in the ninth inning with a four-run lead.

However, in a game where the Brewers seemingly had nothing to gain from winning, the decision was slightly more perplexing, especially given the fact that Kyle Harrison was warming in the bullpen at the same time Megill was when the Brewers were building their lead in the bottom of the eighth. Harrison is in the process of figuring out his second half inconsistency, and is undoubtedly on the postseason roster bubble. To make an informed decision about the breakout lefty, the Brewers need to see Harrison on the mound at least one more time, preferably two, before the season ends. Friday night seemed like the perfect time to use Harrison, especially once the Brewers built a four-run lead.

After the game, I asked Murphy about the decision not to use Harrison, and the Brewers' skipper responded, "Just how the situation played out. He was going to go in if we got to a lefty there at the end [of the eighth]. If Billy [Bryse Wilson] was struggling at the end of the inning, we would have put [Harrison] in to face Scott or Wetherholt." The question then becomes: Should the situation be dictating bullpen decisions when there's essentially nothing on the line? Shouldn't the need to see Harrison in game action multiple times in order to make an informed decision about whether or not he should be on the playoff roster take precedence in such a situation?"

The Brewers certainly want to keep Uribe and Megill on a consistent schedule, but both pitched on Wednesday night. Yes, the pair needs to stay sharp down the stretch, but is an extra day off going to significantly impact that? Harrison's postseason status is perhaps the biggest question facing the team right now, and with nothing left to clinch, seeing him in a game multiple times before the end of the season, especially when there was a clear opportunity for him to pitch, felt like it should have been the priority on Friday night.

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