After a historic 2025 season, the Milwaukee Brewers are right back where they left off.
The Brewers, at 59-37, have the second-best record in Major League Baseball heading into the All Star Game break this week. The club is five games ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central Division. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers have more wins than the team so far this season.
“It’s been an unbelievable first half,” said Ryne Goralski, the general manager of the Kenosha Kingfish.
Understanding Wisconsin, Together.
WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.
“I think what they continue to do is seriously like one of the best stories in baseball, and certainly something that Brewers fans shouldn’t take for granted,” he added.
Chuck Freimund, host of the Brewers podcast “Locked on Brewers,” said it was a “terrific first half.”
“They do it with good, fundamental, sound baseball,” Freimund said. “High baseball IQ, smart players, doing the little things that it takes to win a game.”
Milwaukee Brewers’ Sal Frelick (10) celebrates with Cooper Pratt as he returns to the dugout after hitting a two-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft during the fifth inning of the first game of a baseball doubleheader in Pittsburgh, Saturday, July 11, 2026. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo
The 2025 season was historic for the Brewers. The team set their franchise record for wins during the regular season, as they finished the season with a 97-65 record.
The Brewers also won 12 games in a row for the first time since 2018 last year, triggering a burger giveaway from the restaurant chain George Webb. Thousands of Wisconsinites flocked to the chain to get their hands on a free burger in August.
But after beating the Chicago Cubs in the National League Division Series last year, the team lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
Despite losing their last three games before the All Star Game break to the Pittsburgh Pirates this year, the team’s odds to make the playoffs are currently at 98.2 percent, according to Fan Graphs.
Freimund said he believes the team needs to get better on offense in order to be successful in the postseason. The club has scored the fourth most runs in the MLB so far this season, but they are tied for 28th in home runs.
“Can they beat the Dodgers? Yes, they can beat the Dodgers. I think in baseball, anybody can really beat anybody,” Freimund said. “But, they got to be playing well at the right time, and they got to be hitting.”
The Dodgers have a projected payroll of $397 million this season, the highest in Major League Baseball, according to Fan Graphs.
Milwaukee Brewers’ Jackson Chourio gestures as he rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Milwaukee. Aaron Gash/AP Photo
The club will also attempt to make it back to the World Series for the first time since 1982. For this season, Goralski said it’s “World Series or bust for me.”
“They have the actual ingredients to do it,” Goralski said. “Everybody in baseball recognizes it.”
The All Star Game will be played Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Catcher William Contreras and Pitcher Jacob Misiorowski will represent the team during the game. Misiorowski, who is one of the front runners to win the National Leauge Cy Young Award this season, has a 1.62 ERA and has notched over 160 strikeouts so far this season.
The Brewers are also set to take on the Atlanta Braves in the MLB Little League Classic on Aug. 23.
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers (9) jumps over Brewers shortstop David Hamilton, bottom, after Bauers’ caught an infield pop fly hit by Atlanta Braves’ Mauricio Dubón during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 19, 2026, in Atlanta. Erik S. Lesser/AP Photo
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2026, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.