3 things we learned from the Brewers splitting the series with the Dodgers

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The Milwaukee Brewers sit atop the NL Central with a league-high nine game lead ahead of their rivals. They recently took on the World Series favorites in the Los Angeles Dodgers and despite a bleak 0-2 deficit, Milwaukee clawed their way back to split the series 2-2 and show they will still be right there competing for the NL pennant in October.

A 5-2 defeat opened the series and the Brewers misery was compounded in a heavy 7-2 loss, giving up 13 hits on the night too. It seemed like things were only going to get worse for the Brew Crew, opening up game three of the series by giving up three runs in the top of the first. They bounced back in the second inning to tie the game and managed to squeeze their way through to a 5-4 victory thanks to Devin Williams taking down three of the best hitters in the game.

Thursday night saw the final game of the series with Williams stepping up again to record a save and secure a 6-4 victory and split the series.

This split showed the Brewers are more than capable of contending so here are three things we learned from the Brewers split series with the Dodgers.

1. Pat Murphy has installed a veteran mentality in a youthful group

Pat Murphy is currently running away with the NL Manager of the Year award having taken over from Craig Counsell and improving, while his predecessor sits 10.5 games back with the Chicago Cubs. The fanbase has taken to Murphy's old-fashioned no-nonsense approach to leading his team from the dugout and the players have taken to this, too.

A young group of guys now have a veteran fighting mentality installed in them, constantly fighting back no matter the opposition. Down 0-2 to the Dodgers they could have folded, then giving up three runs in the first of game three made the task even more difficult. And yet they still continued to battle and come away with a series split and NL-leading 33rd comeback win to add momentum to take into another tough series with the Cleveland Guardians.

Following the series, quotes from the coaching staff showed the menatlity that is now showing throughout the clubhouse. Murphy said "it wasn't perfect. A lot of points from our young guys where it’s August and they’re still making mistakes. You get kind of emotional about it. But they bounced back."

Hitting coach Ozzie Timmons said “The main thing is, don’t be in [bleeping] awe of the [bleeping] Dodgers” and that mentality showed. At no point were the young Brewers phased by their opponents, the names on the mound, the names at the plate, they are tight-knit as a group and believe they can take on the world.

Some other quotes from the players that show this mentality:

Rhys Hoskins: “I think what’s impressive is getting beat the way we did in the first two games of this series and then responding the way we did.” "I think we can grab a lot of confidence knowing that we can get punched in the face and get knocked down, and be right back in a series.”

William Contreras: “Everybody knows the Dodgers are a good team. We know we are as well.”

Jackson Chourio: "We know we can compete with anybody. We were able to come out on top, regardless of what it looked like.”

Earlier this season, Murphy passed out t-shirts that said "Undaunted" on them and he reminded the media of this recently. As a team they are showing this mindset and it only boads well for what this team can acheive this season and in the future, especially under the stewardship of Pat Murphy.

2. Devin Williams is still elite and making the league's biggest stars look silly

Devin Williams missed the first three months of the season with two stress fractures in his back. He returned to the mound on July 28 and is performing back to his best. In six games he has given up just three hits, registered three saves, struckout 11 batters and has a 1.50 ERA.

His last three games, one against the Reds and two against the Dodgers, have seen him give up no hits, no walks, strikeout six and record three saves. The most impressive were in games three and four with the Dodgers.

As mentioned, the Brewers were down 0-2 and with a 5-4 lead heading into the ninth of game three, Murphy turned to his star closer and he did the job and then some. Shohei Ohtani flew out, Mookie Betts struck out and Freddie Freeman ground out.

He then showed the winning mentality after the game by saying " I want to get them out. That’s really all that goes through my head. It doesn’t matter what their contract is” when asked about facing Ohtani, Betts and Freeman. Williams continued to say that he might have to do it again and he did just that.

Game four, Brewers up 6-4 heading into the ninth and Wiliams with another three up three down. This time, striking out Andy Pages, Betts and Ohtani before fist pumping the air as the American Family Field crowd stood to applaud their closer.

With Williams back and firing, the Brewers are in a great position for those tight games come October. He will keep pitching his way through the season having missed so much time, but their is no doubt his role is more important than before.

3. No Christian Yelich, no problem

On Thursday August 15, Christian Yelich posted a video announcing he would be getting season-ending back surgery. The former NL MVP is expected to be back at 100% for the start of the 2025 season. It is of course a big loss for the Brewers with not only one of their best hitters being out but one of the veterans in the clubhouse. However, the Brewers have gone 11-9 since Yelich last took the field on July 23rd and they have shown signs of having the pieces to step up in his absence.

Prior to the Dodgers series, the Brewers scored a huge 34 runs against the Atlanta Braves, notching 16 hits in the first two games and 20 hits in the final game of the series. 52 hits in three games. When was the last time you could say that about a Brewers team and against a strong Braves side. A 2-1 series win over the Cincinnati Reds was followed by the split series with the Dodgers, giving them a great 7-3 record since August 6th.

With Yelich now out, this is where the Brewers depth in the outfield helps and gives the young guys the opportunity to step up. Chourio has been magnificent in his rookie season, but now there is the chance for Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick to both step up and show they belong with the Brewers for years to come. Both have immense speed and defensive tools, their contact is their strength on offence so if they can help the offense to continue ticking over then the wins will continue to come.

Both have struggled at times this season with Mitchell starting the season on the IL and Frelick being consistent without adding much damage offensively. Having the options however is a positive in a lineup where Willy Adames, Contreras, Hoskins as vets will always lead but support from Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang always assists in the productive offense.

There are so many positives for the Brewers to take into their tough series with the Guardians. Just over a month and a half of regular season baseball to play and the Brewers are in a strong position both standings and performance wise.

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