Pat Murphy teases Brewers' nightmare injury scenario after ugly loss to Padres

Before the season began, the Milwaukee Brewers likely thought of this ongoing stretch of 17 games in 17 days as one of the most challenging parts of their schedule. Asked to complete two West Coast road trips with a seven-game homestand sandwiched in between and no off days -- not even for travel -- the Brewers have to be questioning what the MLB schedule makers were thinking when constructing this stretch of games.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the taxing nature of this scheduling stretch, the Brewers have come out flat in the first two games of their series against the San Diego Padres. Though they held the lead for much of the series opener, which they ultimately lost by a score of 3-2, scoring two runs was not a fair compliment to the pitching performance that Logan Henderson turned in. Then, in Game 2 of the series on Tuesday night, a defensive miscue from infield fill-in Jihwan Bae spiraled into a five-run second inning for the Padres, which set the stage for an 11-2 rout of the Brew Crew.

Milwaukee's return to the West Coast, just one week after completing a two-city trip against the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels, is made more difficult by the fact that they are currently without their rookie shortstop, Cooper Pratt, who was playing a key role in the team's success over the last month. Paired with slightly above-league-average offensive numbers, Pratt's elite defense made him a very valuable piece of the Brewers' roster. Unfortunately, a hamstring strain, suffered during Saturday night's victory over the Minnesota Twins, landed Pratt on the IL.

Additionally, another Brewers infielder, Joey Ortiz, has been on the shelf since exiting Saturday night's game in the fourth inning due to neck/upper back tightness. Ortiz would have filled in for Pratt at shortstop had he been healthy, but instead, the Brewers have been forced to get creative with their infield group. David Hamilton made two starts at shortstop, which forced the Brewers to play Andrew Vaughn at third base, and on Tuesday night, Brice Turang made his first start at shortstop since the 2023 season.

Now, a postgame report from Brewers' manager Pat Murphy after last night's loss is threatening to send Milwaukee's infield group into even more turmoil.

Brice Turang is reportedly dealing with a sprained thumb, causing more adversity for Brewers' banged-up infield group

Though Turang played all nine innings of last night's loss to the Padres and smacked an RBI double in the ninth inning, it was reported by MLB.com Brewers' beat reporter Adam McCalvy after the game that Milwaukee's Platinum Glove second baseman is dealing with a sprained thumb.

It's obviously a conquering development for the Brewers, who are already short-handed in the infield. An IL stint for Turang, should he require one, would not only add even more chaos to the Brewers' infield picture, but it would also rid the Brew Crew of their most consistent offensive contributor. In other words, losing Turang, especially as the team is about to kick off a four-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers, would be a brutal blow.

On the bright side, Ortiz was reportedly available to pinch hit if needed last night, so there's hope that he will be back in the Brewers' lineup as early as today. Additionally, the Brewers offered an encouraging update on Pratt, who appears destined to spend close to the minimum number of days (10) on the IL.

The severity of Turang's thumb sprain is not yet known, but more details are bound to surface before today's series finale in San Diego. Should Turang land on the IL, the Brewers' corresponding roster move will be an interesting one. With Jett Williams nursing a wrist injury in Triple-A, the Brewers could turn to corner infield prospect Luke Adams for his debut or give a long-awaited shot at the big leagues to either Eric Brown Jr. or Ethan Murray. However, with question marks present in each of those three prospects' profiles, the hope is certainly that Turang's sprain isn't severe enough to require an IL stint.

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