Pat Murphy pushes all the right buttons in Brewers Game 2 win over Cubs

The decision not to start Quinn Priester in Game 2 of the NLDS tonight was one that was initially met with quiet criticism from many in the baseball world. When Aaron Ashby, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy’s choice to start Game 2, surrendered a three-run homer to Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki in the top of the first inning, those critics immediately became louder, with the immunity of hindsight on their side.

Beneath the hallowed roof of American Family Field, a crowd of nearly entirely Brewers fans grew quiet, wondering why Ashby was Murphy's choice over the steady arm of Priester, who seemingly gave the team the best chance to win in Monday's late-night tilt.

However, when the Brewers responded in rapid fashion with a three-run homer of their own, off the bat of Andrew Vaughn in the bottom of the first frame, the Milwaukee faithful collectively let out a sigh of relief, and their concerns with Murphy's pitching decisions quickly melted away. Eyes turned to the Brewers bullpen, where fans saw reliever Nick Mears, not Priester, warming as Ashby worked through his second frame.

Despite earning two quick outs in the top of the second, Ashby proceeded to allow both Matt Shaw and Justin Turner, who was only in the game because of Murphy's use of a left-handed opener, to reach base. Murphy made the first of what would end up being many trips from the Brewers' dugout to the pitching calling Mears in to clean up the mess that Ashby had created on the basepaths. Mears made quick work of Chicago's second baseman, Nico Hoerner, and the tie game continued.

Pat Murphy surprises everyone with a bullpen game in Game 2 of the NLDS

After a quiet second inning from the Brewers' offense, the crowd's attention once again turned to the bullpen, where they were sure they would see Priester warming up. However, much to the surprise of the more than 42,000 patrons inside American Family Field, it was rookie Jacob Misiorowski getting loose.

Misiorowski, who was no lock to make the Brewers' postseason roster, was set to face the heart of the Cubs' lineup in the third inning. Despite a walk to Suzuki, who has been on fire at the plate during the postseason, The Miz made quick work of the Cubs' sluggers and yelled to the fired-up crowd after completing an unassisted out at first base to end the inning.

The energy that Miz displayed in the top of the third carried on to the bottom of the frame, and with two outs in the inning, William Contreras hit one of the most electric home runs in Brewers postseason history. A no-doubter down the left-field line, Contreras stood and watched his homer for a moment or two before breaking out a new telephone celebration that not only fired up his teammates in the dugout, but also the revived crowd at Am Fam, who watched their team go from a three-run deficit to a one-run lead in a matter of moments.

Now with the lead and the game headed to the fourth inning, surely it was time for Quinn Priester, but Murphy once again defied the fans' beliefs, sending Misiorowski back out for another frame. Another walk prevented The Miz from a 1-2-3 inning, but he once again made quick work of the Cubs' hitters, navigating through the bottom of the order and the red-hot Michael Busch, who collected his first at-bat of the game in the fourth inning.

Then came the dagger in the bottom of the inning. Jackson Chourio, who was questionable to even start tonight's game, roped a three-run homer to dead center field, giving the Brew Crew a four-run lead just three innings after they trailed by three.

With some breathing room to work with, Murphy stuck with his rookie, sending Miz out for another inning in the top of the fifth. Once again, The Miz allowed one base-runner, a single to Nico Hoerner, but put up another clean inning, his third of the game. However, the Brewers rookie was approaching 60 pitches, and it was time to change course.

Murphy turned to another rookie, Chad Patrick, who must have thrown nearly 75 pitches in the Brewers' bullpen throughout the game, essentially being ready at a moment’s notice throughout Misiorowski's outing. Patrick looked excellent in his one inning of work, striking out both Carson Kelly and Pete-Crow Armstrong before getting Dansby Swanson to ground out awkwardly to first base.

The Brewers' manager turned to his big guns for the final three innings, giving Jared Koenig four out Trevor Megill, who is still working back from a flexor strain, just two outs, and Abner Uribe the ninth inning, who finished the game off with three strikeouts.

Murphy's Game 2 pitching decisions sets the Brewers up perfectly for Game 3 of the NLDS

Yes, Ashby allowed a three-run homer in the first inning, but outside of that, the Brewers couldn't have asked for anything more than what their pitching staff delivered tonight. One mistake by Suzuki is not the storyline from tonight's game. Instead, it is the masterful job that Murphy did navigating his well-rested pitching staff, and the execution he received from his out-getters.

With seven total pitchers used in tonight's game by the Brewers, Cubs hitters were constantly seeing new arms, preventing them from settling in and learning from their previous at-bats.

Not only did the decision come as a surprise to the Cubs, and everyone watching the game for that matter, but it also set the Brewers up perfectly for Game 3, which will be played in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon. Following tonight's win, a game in which everyone thought Murphy would use Quinn Priester, the Brewers manager wasn't shy about who his Game 3 starter would be. Twisting the knife into the Cubs' playoff hopes, Murphy announced to reporters that of course Priester would start Game 3, that was the plan all along, as reported by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

Call it gamesmanship or strategy or just flat-out guts, what Pat Murphy pulled off tonight was nothing short of incredible. To navigate an entire playoff win without a traditional starting pitcher, though some could argue that Misiorowski was the starter used tonight, is simply miraculous. With everyone expecting Priester to emerge from the bullpen at some point in the game, Murphy stuck to his strategy and now his team will reap the rewards.

With a chance to advance to the NLCS for just the second time in franchise history on the line, the Brewers will throw Illinois-native Quinn Priester, who the team won 19 games in a row behind during the regular season, in Game 3 of the NLDS. Brewers fans should feel very lucky that they have Murphy calling the shots for their team.