Why Pat Murphy was the real MVP of Brewers’ World Series Game 2 win over Rays

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Managers often receive blame for losses in the MLB playoffs. They don’t often receive enough credit when they do a good job during a win. Pat Murphy was stellar in his managerial performance on Saturday, however. Sure, the players are the ones who have to perform well and they unquestionably deserve credit. What Murphy did — and didn’t do — on Saturday night in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the World Series should not be overlooked.

Things did not go according to plan for Milwaukee early in the matchup. Logan Henderson struggled across three innings of work, allowing four runs (three earned). In fact, all four runs came in the first inning. The Brewers were able to answer with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.

Murphy removed Henderson in the third and turned to his bullpen. The Brewers manager went on to press all of the right buttons throughout the remainder of the contest.

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Pat Murphy’s elite feel for the game

What stands out about Murphy’s performance is his feel for the game. Murphy isn’t afraid to trust his players.

We have seen analytics take over baseball quite often throughout the years. A manager may remove a pitcher who is locked in on the mound because the numbers suggest it’s the smart move. Murphy didn’t make that mistake on Saturday. He’s a guy who is going to do what he thinks is best despite what the numbers may say.

After getting one scoreless inning each from JoJo Romero, Dustin May and DL Hall following Henderson’s departure, he turned to Abner Uribe in the 7th inning. Murphy allowed Uribe to work into the 8th, and he finished with 1.1 scoreless innings. Murphy then brought in left-hander Aaron Ashby. It seemed as if Ashby would potentially just get the final two outs of the 8th inning and be done, but Murphy kept him in for the 9th.

After a situation with two outs, a runner on third base and Yandy Diaz coming to the plate in a one-run game presented itself, turning to right-handed closer Trevor Megill seemingly would have been the logical move. Diaz bats right-handed and Megill is one of the best closers in baseball. However, Ashby has been locked in throughout the postseason and Megill threw a lot of pitches during his shaky 9th inning in Friday’s win.

Murphy suddenly faced a decision. Many managers probably would have gone with their closer, but Murphy — displaying his feel for the game — stuck with Ashby. So, how did it turn out?

Aaron Ashby rewards Pat Murphy’s trust in Brewers’ win

It was looking like it was going to backfire after the count ran up to 3-1. Ashby’s next two pitches perfectly explained why Murphy trusted him in the biggest spot of his MLB career, Ashby threw back-to-back curveballs, which suggests he felt extremely confident on the mound. Not feeling like he had to throw a fastball spoke to his comfort level.

Catcher William Contreras deserves credit as well. He was blocking every single pitch in the dirt with Ashby on the mound in the 9th inning. Ashby was able to throw his breaking pitches in the dirt without worry of a wild pitch with a runner on third base.

Diaz, who seemingly was looking for a fastball, took the 3-1 curveball down the middle. The next curve caused Diaz to attempt to swing. He tried to hold up but to no avail, as the first base umpire signaled that Diaz’s attempt at a check swing was indeed a swing.

Pat Murphy doesn’t feel like he has to over-manage. He makes decisions that others may question, but they often work out. He’s a two-time National League Manager of the Year for a reason.

Murphy’s managing played a crucial role on Saturday as the Brewers now hold a 2-0 lead in the World Series over the Rays.

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