Sunday, October 04

Welcome to another edition of the Brewers Beat newsletter. This week’s edition was written by Zach Sweet. 

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers know who they want taking the baseball first in October.

Jacob Misiorowski. Logan Henderson.

After that?

That might be one of Milwaukee’s most fascinating questions over the final two weeks of the regular season.

The Brewers have lined up Misiorowski and Henderson back to back in the rotation for quite some time, establishing the club’s two clear candidates to start Games 1 and 2 should Milwaukee earn the first-round bye it is chasing and advance directly to the best-of-five National League Division Series.

But there is no obvious Game 3 starter behind them. And maybe there doesn’t need to be.

Milwaukee has been here before.

The Brewers carried 12 pitchers into Game 1 of last year’s NLDS and navigated October with essentially one conventional starter, Freddy Peralta, who took the ball in Games 1 and 4. Around him, Milwaukee leaned heavily into openers and bulk pitchers, using Misiorowski for multi-inning stints and asking José Quintana to cover multiple innings in another game.

Aaron Ashby started three of Milwaukee’s nine games between the NLDS and NLCS. Trevor Megill started another.

Rather than worrying about traditional roles, the Brewers are concerned with getting outs. And they may have to do something similar again this October.

Kyle Harrison was supposed to provide one potential answer, but instead has become one of the bigger questions. The left-hander’s velocity dipped during a difficult stretch, and Saturday brought another wrinkle when Milwaukee tried to use him out of the bullpen in the eighth inning against Cincinnati.

Harrison faced four batters in that relief appearance. He allowed four hits. He didn’t record an out.

Manager Pat Murphy acknowledged afterward that Harrison’s velocity had jumped back up but his command and movement hadn’t followed, potentially pointing toward fatigue or a delivery issue.

“We’ll get it straight,” Murphy said. “He’s got to get himself through it.”

So, who else?

Robert Gasser made his case Sunday.

Gasser delivered five-plus innings of one-run ball against Cincinnati and continued a late-season run that has included strong outings against the Cubs and Mets.

“He was great,” Murphy said. “He continues to just -- those first 85 pitches, he’s really, really good.”

Asked directly whether Gasser has put himself in a good position for the postseason pitching plan, Murphy didn’t hesitate.

“For sure,” Murphy said. “Gass has thrown the ball great.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean Gasser will start a postseason game, though.

He could. But Milwaukee’s history suggests labels will matter much less than matchups. Gasser could follow an opener. Dustin May could provide length. Chad Patrick and DL Hall can cover multiple innings. Antonio Senzatela offers another option. Grant Anderson’s health could factor into the bullpen picture, and rookie Shane Drohan remains another arm to evaluate.

The goal is less about identifying traditional postseason starters and more about determining which 11 or 12 pitchers Murphy trusts to record the 27 outs necessary each night.

A first-round bye would make that strategy easier.

Milwaukee enters Monday with a magic number of two to clinch the NL Central, meaning any combination of two Brewers wins and Cubs losses will secure the division. The Brewers are off Monday before opening a series Tuesday in Pittsburgh, where they can clinch the NL Central as early as that night.

Then comes the next goal: securing one of the National League’s top two seeds and avoiding the best-of-three Wild Card Series altogether.

That would give Milwaukee several days to reset its pitching staff before Game 1 of the NLDS on Oct. 3 -- and allow Murphy and the Brewers to construct a five-game pitching plan around Misiorowski and Henderson.

There are still plenty of auditions between now and then. Gasser strengthened his Sunday. Harrison’s became more complicated Saturday.

And somewhere among all those arms, the Brewers have roughly two weeks to figure out who gets the rest of the outs.

Garrett Mitchell entered this season with a goal.

It wasn’t a certain number of home runs, hits or stolen bases.

He wanted to be available for 140 games.

For a player whose first several Major League seasons were repeatedly interrupted by injuries, simply being on the field consistently mattered more than any statistical benchmark. Now, every game Mitchell plays pushes him further into uncharted territory personally.

“My goal for the year was to be available for 140 games,” Mitchell said Saturday. “For me, it became less about statistical things and more just about being out there and being a part of this.”

After starting Sunday’s game, he has now played in 134 games with 12 to go in the regular season.

Mitchell has done much more than simply stay available. His four-hit performance Saturday included a home run for the second consecutive night, continuing what Murphy called a season of improvement “in every aspect.”

But Mitchell’s biggest accomplishment might be learning how to navigate the grind that once kept him from showing what he could do over a full season.

“I’ve never doubted my ability to play the game,” Mitchell said. “But something that I felt like I needed to prove again was to be healthy and be out there.”

Now, with October approaching, he is.

• Brewers clinch eighth trip to playoffs in nine years

• Postseason FAQ: What's next for Brewers?

• Something special brewing as Crew cruises to another double-digit win

• Why do these three fireballers have a changeup they almost never throw? We asked them

• Crew unable to finish perfect homestand despite Jake Bauers' clutch homer

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