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Despite getting swept in Pittsburgh, an unexpected pothole on their path, the Milwaukee Brewers should still feel good about themselves at the All-Star break.
Shouldn’t they?
The Brewers (59-37) are on pace for 100 victories, the most for a single season in franchise history, topping last year’s mark of 97. The 59 wins in the first half is a record, too.
Although Milwaukee’s winning recipe in the National League Central has been well-documented — playoff berths in seven of the last eight seasons — there are still doubters.
Going into spring training, there were questions, particularly after the trade of staff ace Freddy Peralta, who went 17-6 last year and had been a steady fixture in the rotation.
Yet only the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers have more wins at the break. All things considered, did anyone believe the Brewers were capable of a 59-win first half?
“Were they capable? Yes,” replied Sophia Minnaert, an award-winning television reporter in Milwaukee who is a steady fixture in her own right, on the Brewers telecasts since 2018.
“But you know how hard it is. It takes a lot of things. It takes health and performance and a lot of different guys contributing.
“They’ve also dealt with adversity. There was that stretch of the season where they were down (Christian) Yelich, (Andrew) Vaughn, (Jackson) Chourio for more than a month.
“They had to sort of tread water and hang in there and they did to their credit. I never set any limits on what this group is capable of because I feel like they always answer.”
In addition to her on-air duties, Minnaert has been the team’s broadcast and digital features content director. There have been plenty of positive storylines to emerge daily.
Sunday wasn’t one of those days.
More injuries to overcome
Not only did the Brewers suffer through a 10-run inning in a 14-5 rout, but pitcher Brandon Woodruff was moved to the 60-day injured list and will be out until September.
Woodruff has been battling right shoulder inflammation and has been limited to nine starts and a 2-2 record. There will be another update on his status later in the week.
The 33-year-old Woodruff missed the entire 2024 season after shoulder surgery. Last year, he was 7-2 in 12 starts before a strained muscle sidelined him for the playoffs.
“Personally, you feel for him so much just because this has been such a frustrating journey,” Minnaert said Saturday before knowing of his expanded stint on the injury list.
“Everybody who spends any time around Woody just loves him and knows what he means to the team and this organization.
“He’s done a great job of setting a real culture and closeness. He’s just the best example of the daily work required for all these young guys to follow, ‘This is how it’s done.’”
One of those young arms, Kyle Harrison, 24, went on the 15-day injured list with forearm tightness, retroactive to July 9. It was more of a precautionary move to rest his arm.
With an 8-2 record, Harrison has the second most wins as a starter on the staff behind Jacob Misiorowski, 24, who skipped his turn Sunday and will be given more rest.
The Miz will attend Tuesday’s All-Star game in Philadelphia. He won’t pitch, but he will experience the vibe. He’s deserving of the spotlight with a 10-4 record and 1.62 ERA.
“He got so much attention last year when he came up and it has been even more this year,” Minnaert said. “He’s handled it really well. He’s shown real maturity.”
Miz isn’t into show biz.
“He’s just humble, a well-grounded guy. He doesn’t take himself too seriously. He likes to have fun. He loves pitching against the best. He loves competing.”
So does Milwaukee second baseman Brice Turang, who was left off the All-Star roster. Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies and San Francisco’s Luis Arraez were in Philly instead of him.
“There’s no question when you watch him (Turang) every day that he’s an All-Star,” Minnaert opined. “(Manager) Pat Murphy has said that. His teammates would tell you that.”
Even if Turang is too humble to say that himself, he opened eyes to his skills and talent level with Team USA during the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
‘Good things can happen’
Minnaert is of the belief that the Brewers don’t get enough credit for their talented players. Maybe it’s due to their small market payroll and commitment to overachievers.
On the team’s successful run in the NL Central, she said, “It’s a product of a lot of quality decisions and investment in the group and keeping the core together.
“The players deserve all the credit because they’re the ones competing and doing all of this. This isn’t just a culture thing. These guys are all super talented.
“They’re really coming into the prime of their careers, and now you’ve got this even younger group with Jackson Chourio, Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara, all 22 or under.
“You just look at it and go, ‘Wow, this is a group that could be successful for a long time just with the talent they have. … You feel good things can happen.’”
Last season, the Brewers won the most regular season games in baseball at 97. After eliminating the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs, they were swept by the Dodgers.
It left a bad taste.
“They know what a long haul this is and how hard it is to do consistently,” Minnaert said. “They also frankly want more. They haven’t ultimately done what they wanted to do.”
Postseason punchouts have haunted them.
“They’ve won the division the last couple of years. They’ve made these postseason runs. But they still want more. They’re still hungry.”
It’s a Milwaukee personality trait.
“They’re legitimately a very close group. There’s great chemistry here,” said Minnaert, a Edgewood High School and Marquette University grad.
“They do the work together. They really do pull for each other. They’re really an even-keel group. They never get too high. They never get too low.”
Through thick or thin.
This is how it’s done.