MILWAUKEE — The baseball spun off the bat at 49.5 mph, slower than the speed limit on Interstate 94 just outside American Family Field. Headed toward the sport’s most sure-handed second baseman, the grounder served as an encapsulation for the remarkable success of the best team in baseball in 2025: the Milwaukee Brewers.

Because in the first inning of a 9-3 Brewers victory, Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner found himself in a familiar position for MLB fielders this season — betrayed by his glove and confounded by Milwaukee. In failing to field Sal Frelick’s grounder, Hoerner’s error extended a six-run frame that blew up the pitching plans of Cubs manager Craig Counsell and allowed the Brewers to cruise in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

“That’s just our game,” Brewers cornerstone Christian Yelich said.

For the national audience who only caught glimpses of the Brewers in 2025, consider that inning a primer. This group is not a collection of Wallbangers. But they make opponents bang their heads against the wall, as the Cubs did in a series-opening inning compromised of five hits, two walks and that crucial error.



No, the Brewers do not hit many home runs, at least compared to the slugging lineups remaining in the postseason. But no team won more games this season. No team forced more errors. And no team subjected its opponents to more unrelenting pressure, the quality that manager Pat Murphy sometimes refers to as a “woodpecker mentality” executed by a group of “Average Joes.”

“He always talks about this: He wants the other team to feel us,” general manager Matt Arnold said. “I think how we go about our business, how we play the game, and the pressure we apply — it just wears the opposition down, in a lot of ways.”

The regular season was littered with examples of the Brewers breaking brains. Milwaukee made New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor slam his glove after an error. Milwaukee caused Los Angeles Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw to bark at a teammate for sluggish play in the outfield. Milwaukee incited Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson’s lone ejection this season, all because of a balk.

In Saturday’s first inning, the Cubs, to their credit, did not lose their cool. But they still lost the game. And the afternoon served as a proof of concept for Milwaukee’s style of play. Even against the Cubs, one of the strongest fielding units in the majors, the Brewers’ offense can find holes and provoke mistakes. On Saturday, the lasting image generated by Milwaukee’s relentlessness was Cubs manager Craig Counsell, the team’s former skipper, scratching his head and looking bewildered in the opposing dugout.

“They did a great job in the first inning, man,” Counsell said. “Bottom line, they had really good at-bats. They hit balls hard. They spoiled pitches.”

For Milwaukee, the lone worry experienced on an otherwise joyous afternoon at the ballpark was the status of outfielder Jackson Chourio, who left after re-aggravating a right hamstring injury while legging out an infield single in the second inning. The initial diagnosis was hamstring tightness, though Chourio was expected to undergo more testing before the series resumes on Monday.

Chourio, a 21-year-old wunderkind, collected three hits in his three at-bats on Saturday, including a double that led off the first inning and a two-run single the bookended the scoring. He is a crucial cog in the Milwaukee machine.

The Brewers blew up Counsell’s pitching plans early, showcasing the kind of baseball that has opponents confounded. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

Then again, when the Brewers reeled off a 14-game winning streak in August and wrenched the National League Central away from the Cubs, Chourio resided on the injured list. Milwaukee’s success stems from the depth of its talent, rather than the stars at its apex. The casual fan may not recognize any Brewers beyond Yelich, a three-time All-Star outfielder and former National League MVP. This month could afford the franchise an opportunity to introduce the nation to the charms of its roster.

The group came to play on Saturday. There was catcher William Contreras, using his hands to bash a first-inning RBI double and his legs to chug home on Hoerner’s error.

There was outfielder Blake Perkins, signed out of minor-league obscurity three seasons ago, taking an 11-pitch at-bat that ended with an RBI single in the first. An inning later, there was Caleb Durbin, a 5-foot-7 third baseman who is part of what Arnold calls “one of the smallest infields of all time,” splashing a two-run single into center field to punish Cubs reliever Michael Soroka in a three-run second inning.

There was starting pitcher Freddy Peralta, recovering from serving up a leadoff homer to Cubs first baseman Michael Busch to strike out nine across 5 2/3 innings of two-run baseball.

“I think for Freddy, (the homer) was a slap in the face, and then he responded the way you do,” Murphy said.

The offense provided Peralta, who made his second All-Star team in 2025 as he posted a career-best 2.70 ERA in a career-high 33 starts, with a healthy cushion. The lineup greeted Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, working on three days’ rest, with three consecutive doubles. After a groundout by Yelich, midseason addition Andrew Vaughn took a walk to set the stage for Frelick. He chopped a sinker toward Hoerner and busted down the line.

And here is where the Brewers demonstrated the skill that powered them into homefield advantage throughout October.

“It’s not just me running down the line,” Frelick said. “It’s (Vaughn) running hard to second, getting (Hoerner) in between there.”



Hoerner won a Gold Glove in 2023 and will likely win another in 2025. Together with shortstop Dansby Swanson, he provides a stability that anchors Chicago’s defense. So there was shock to see what happened next. The ball slipped beneath Hoerner’s glove. The Brewers were ready for the miscue. Although Contreras rates as one of the slowest runners on the team, that did not prevent him from hustling to score from second base.

The Brewers consider this level of effort to be a critical aspect of their approach. The culture did not emerge whole-cloth from Murphy’s mind. Dating back to the stewardship of David Stearns, who left the front office to run the New York Mets after the 2023 season, the Brewers prioritized identifying players who hustle on the bases, listen to instruction and prioritize attention to detail.

Every team, of course, searches for these types of athletes. But for Milwaukee, a team which has reached the postseason in seven of the past eight seasons despite regularly financing a bottom-third payroll, the quality is indispensable.

“For the most part, the guys they go out and get, the guys they draft — everyone runs hard,” Frelick said. “Everyone I’ve ever been around in the minors here, that’s always been the standard. That’s been built into our culture for a while now.”

When Murphy replaced Counsell, also after the 2023 season, he became the enforcer of the club’s standard. He relies upon Yelich, who at 33 is the eldest hitter on the roster, to provide an example for the young players sharing the clubhouse. The combination of encouragement from the coaching staff and accountability from the players has turned the team into a force.

That is how the Brewers won 97 games in 2025. That is how they put together Saturday’s first inning, an emphatic statement about the viability of their approach. The error certainly helped the rally. But the error did not occur by accident.

“You’ve got to have that sometimes to get a big lead or extend an inning,” Murphy said. “That’s how we’ve had to do it. Did we homer today?”

He knew the answer. And as this month proceeds, folks across the country may get to know his team, too.

(Photo: John Fisher / Getty Images)