The Milwaukee Brewers are facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series for the second straight year, and manager Pat Murphy says his team is approaching the rematch differently this time.
Last year, Murphy joked before the series that he doubted the Dodgers could name eight players on his roster. The Dodgers swept the Brewers in four games and went on to win the World Series.
This year, with another trip to the World Series on the line, Murphy has dropped the self-deprecating approach.
“We want to kick their butts,” Murphy said.
Murphy, a two-time manager of the year, said he regrets leaning on the underdog narrative last season.
“I’m sorry I played that underdog card,” Murphy said. “I probably shouldn’t have played that, used that as an excuse for why we didn’t play well. I don’t care who the underdog is. I don’t care who the favorite is. It’s about getting in the ring and fighting it out.”
Before coaching baseball at Arizona State and Notre Dame and later managing the Brewers, Murphy was an amateur boxer who moved to Miami hoping to turn professional. That background came through in how he talked about facing the Dodgers for a second consecutive postseason.
“I think any time there’s familiarity it could help,” Murphy said. “You fight a guy once and you fight him the second time, you should have a better idea. Everything’s different. The guy is a little different that you’re fighting the second time, even though it’s the same person. They’ve got a different strategy, maybe different personnel.”
The Brewers finished the regular season with baseball’s best record for the second year in a row, setting a franchise record with 103 wins. But questions remain about how their offense and pitching staff will hold up against the Dodgers in October.
Milwaukee led the majors in batting average during the regular season but had the second-fewest home runs in baseball. Its rotation also thins out quickly after Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson.
Asked how a fastball-heavy pitching staff would handle a Dodgers lineup known for hitting fastballs, Murphy returned to a boxing analogy.
“You’ve got to execute because executing pitches is what it’s about. That stops offense. We’re still going to pitch to our strengths. It’s like any other fight. Styles matter, but we can only do what we can do. I can’t all of a sudden become a counterpuncher if I’m Mike Tyson, and they can’t be Muhammad Ali if all year they fought like George Foreman,” Murphy said.
Milwaukee’s hopes likely hinge on winning Game 1, which will be started by Misiorowski, the favorite for the NL Cy Young Award. He beat the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Aug. 15, allowing one run over six innings with six strikeouts. He’ll face Tarik Skubal in the opener.
After that, the Dodgers hold a clear advantage in starting pitching, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow lined up to follow. The longer the series goes, the more Milwaukee’s bullpen could be tested.
Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich said the team isn’t focused on who’s favored.
“Look, if you want to play who’s favored in this series, it’s probably not us, but it doesn’t matter,” Yelich said. “It’s the same thing in spring training when we’re the team that’s never picked to win the division or be the postseason team. It doesn’t matter who people say is favored or not favored because you have to go play the games.”
