Brewers Notebook: Turang Helps Tie a Bow on Top Season in Team History

Some teams take their foot off the gas once their postseason situation is all but determined. The 2026 Milwaukee Brewers are apparently not one of those teams.

Even as manager Pat Murphy started shortening starting pitcher outings and giving regular position players rest days, the Brewers kept winning series down the stretch. The St. Louis Cardinals were the final team to experience that firsthand.

In the series opener on Friday, Brewers starting pitcher Robert Gasser set the tone early, holding the Cardinals to one run over six innings on just one hit and one walk while striking out nine. He’d leave the game with the Crew holding a 4-1 lead.

St. Louis would make a game of it. Home runs by Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson in the seventh off Bryse Wilson, who had just been reinstated from the IL, would tie the game at four.

But the Brewers would do what they’ve done often this year and come back late. RBIs by Brice Turang, William Contreras, and Jake Bauers would put four runs on the board in the eighth, leading to the eventual 8-4 final score.

Saturday would see the Cardinals jump out to an early lead on a Thomas Saggese broken-bat RBI single and another towering homer from Burleson, both off Brewers starter Dustin May, giving St. Louis a 2-0 lead through three.

The Brewers would do what they do from there, though, as a Jackson Chourio RBI single in the third would cut the lead in half, and a two-run homer from Turang, his 21st of the season, would put Milwaukee ahead 3-2. Milwaukee would hold the Cardinals without a hit after the third inning to secure the series.

Then, on Sunday, the Brewers would go for the sweep. Jacob Misiorowski  would kick things off with 5.1 scoreless innings, including recording his 252nd strikeout to take the MLB lead and, in all likelihood, the NL Cy Young Award as well.

Four Milwaukee starters would record RBIs on the day, and eight of nine would collect at least one hit en route to a 6-0 lead through four. St. Louis would make one final push with four runs in the eighth before the Brewers shut the door on the series sweep and secured their franchise-record and MLB-leading 103rd win of the season.

Turang Caps Off a Career Year by Reaching a Big Milestone

If this weekend was an unfortunate reminder of anything for the Cardinals, it’s that they’ll have to deal with Brewers second baseman Brice Turang for plenty more years, as the Milwaukee superstar terrorized them for three games.

Turang was all over the basepaths in the series opener, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored while driving in three. On Saturday, his two-run homer ended up serving as the game-winning hit.

He’d knock in one final run in Sunday’s series finale, giving him six total for the weekend. Turang’s final line: 5-for-12, two doubles, one homer, six RBIs, three runs scored, and a walk with two strikeouts.

Turang’s six RBIs brought him to exactly 100 on the season, making him just the third Brewers player to reach the mark in the 2020s, joining shortstop Willy Adames in 2024 and Christian Yelich last year.

“It’s been special,” Murphy said of Turang’s season. “He’s such a baseball kid, you know. He responds so well. That’s the thing that’s most impressive about our group, but Brice, you know, epitomizes this.”

Like others on the team, Turang has had his ups and downs at the plate this season. That might make it even more impressive that he finishes his fourth season with a line of .268/.366/.450, 37 doubles, three triples, 21 homers, 100 RBIs, 90 walks, 102 runs scored, and 19 steals.

“You know, he can go through a lull and he doesn’t get too down, he just knows how to respond,” Murphy said, “and that’s what we should learn, shouldn’t we?”

Misiorowski Wraps Up One of Franchise’s Best Pitching Seasons Ever

Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski formally announced his arrival last year when he was named to the All-Star Game after just five career starts. Even after that, few likely predicted what he had in store for a follow-up in 2026.

Misiorowski took the mound for the team’s final game of the year and did exactly what he’s done all season: dominate. He went 5.1 scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and two walks while striking out five.

That outing lowered his ERA to 1.80 on the season, the lowest mark in franchise history for a Brewers starter to make at least 20 starts. It also helped him lead all of MLB in several other categories.

Along with ERA, Misiorowski led all qualified MLB starters in strikeouts (252), strikeouts per nine innings (12.98), hits per nine innings (4.9), WHIP (0.802), batting average against (.157), FIP (2.17), and fWAR (6.6).

One could make a strong argument that this was the single best pitching season in Brewers franchise history as well. CC Sabathia had an incredible season of his own in 2008, pitching to a 1.65 ERA with seven complete games and three shutouts while helping lead the Brewers back to the playoffs for the first time in 26 seasons. However, he only pitched in 17 games for Milwaukee after being traded there midseason.

Misiorowski could make an even stronger case for the best season by a pitcher in franchise history with a strong postseason run. As good as Sabathia was in 2008, he gave up five runs in 3.2 innings on six hits and four walks in his only playoff appearance for the Brewers.

The current Brewers ace will be well-rested when they begin their playoff quest on Saturday in the first game of the NLDS. If he shows out and Milwaukee advances, there should be little doubt that the best-season moniker belongs to him.

Harrison’s Stock Moves Up While May’s Stock Stays in Limbo

With Pat Murphy considering what his playoff roster will look like, two Brewers pitchers, Kyle Harrison and Dustin May, have been searching for some answers on the mound over the last month or so. One of them looked like he might have found it.

Harrison pitched two innings out of the bullpen on Saturday, retiring six of the seven batters he faced. He struck out four, induced a flyout and a groundout, and hit a batter. He threw first-pitch strikes to six of the batters, and his fastball topped out at 97.2 mph.

Since returning from injury in August, Harrison had largely looked nothing like himself, compiling a 7.80 ERA over 30 innings heading into Saturday’s outing. While his velocity was up, his pitch shapes were off until finally looking more normal last weekend.

“Harrison was sharp today, he was sharp,” Murphy said following Harrison’s outing. “He wasn’t thinking, he was just out there throwing, he was sharp. Didn’t matter righty, lefty….the ball had the explosion to it that it had early in the season. His breaking ball was way more convicted. I was impressed by him.”

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May, on the other hand, had his ups and downs in his three-inning start on Saturday. He had five strikeouts over his three innings of work and started off with a 1-2-3 inning, but he also allowed three baserunners and a run in the second, along with a long home run on a 2-2 count with two outs in the third.

“The stuff felt good,” May said after his start. “Giving up the long ball is not ideal, but I mean the stuff felt good, it was coming out good. Got two weak singles that sort of flared into a run and then one that was not a weak hit…so definitely positives but need to figure out how to stop giving up the long ball.”

As for Murphy’s assessment?

“Three innings, you know, again, a couple mistakes,” he stated. “I thought there was, you know, there’s a lot of good in there once again, but there was some mistakes. But by and large, you know, thought he pitched pretty well.”

Now comes the question of what roles the two will fill in the postseason, assuming each makes the roster. As far as May is concerned, he is willing to do whatever he is asked.

“I’m an open door for whenever my name is called,” said May. “Whatever they need out of me, I’m gonna go and I’m gonna produce and I’m gonna get the job done whenever my time is called.”