How long should Brewers fans expect Aaron Ashby to pitch tonight?

After a dominating Game 1 win in the NLDS, most expected Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy to name either Quinn Priester or José Quintana as the starter for their Game 2 match-up with the Chicago Cubs.

The Brewers' skipper threw a wrench in those plans when he announced that reliever Aaron Ashby would be making the start instead as a designated opener.

Ashby, who threw 1.1 innings against the Cubs in Game 1 of the series, is a good matchup for the top of the Cubs' order, which features the likes of left-handed sluggers Michael Busch and Kyle Tucker (not to mention Ian Happ, a switch-hitter who has been better from the left side during his career).

However, as a former starter who pitched more than 100 innings just three years ago, is there room for Ashby, one of the most important arms in the Brewers' bullpen, to handle a larger workload than expected?

Aaron Ashby could reprise Brandon Woodruff's 2018 role in NLDS Game 2 start

Allow me to take you back to 2018 for a moment (i.e. the last time the Brewers advanced to the NLCS). In the first game of that year's NLDS against the Colorado Rockies, the Brewers trusted Brandon Woodruff — who had been a reliever in 15 of his 19 appearances that season — with handling the starting duties.

Woodruff ended up pitching three scoreless innings against the Rockies, tossing 48 pitches before he handed the ball off to Corbin Burnes and the bullpen.

Now, that was more of a true bullpen game than what the Brewers are likely planning in Game 2 — Burnes was also a reliever back then — but it does present a template for Murphy to follow here in 2025.

Ashby probably should be relied upon to handle at least the first time through the order. In that scenario, he'd pitch against all of the aforementioned Cubs' lefties, plus Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is expected to hit near the bottom of Chicago's order as he did in Game 1. Assuming the southpaw were then to be relieved by Quinn Priester, the Brewers could handle the majority of the game's innings with just those two pitchers.

Of course, the fact that Ashby pitched in Game 1 (even in a low-leverage situation) means that he probably won't be fresh enough to handle a traditional start's worth of innings. Then again, given that the Cubs match up surprisingly well against Priester, Murphy could rely on his lefty reliever until the first sign of trouble.

This could just be a play-it-by-ear situation, as Murphy is adamant that it truly is. Because Quintana is also available, the Brewers don't need to save Priester (or Chad Patrick) for future games in the series. They can empty the tank if they need to in Game 2.

Or, you know, they could just jump out to another 9-1 lead and render this whole conversation moot.