Uribe 'ready to go' for every postseason game in Crew's shutdown 'pen

By Adam McCalvy and Zach Sweet | 1:59 PM EDT

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MILWAUKEE -- Six postseason games. Six appearances for Abner Uribe.

Does he think he can pitch in every game as far as the Brewers go?

“Sí,” Uribe said.

That answer in the affirmative came quickly after Uribe recorded four more outs in a 7-4 victory over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Monday at American Family Field, part of a record-tying 15-up, 15-down for Milwaukee’s bullpen and a busy postseason for Uribe, the only Brewers pitcher to appear in every game so far.

Cleveland relievers Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith are also six-for-six so far going into Game 2 of the ALCS on Tuesday night, which made us wonder about the record for consecutive appearances in team games to begin a single postseason.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the answer is eight games in a row for these resilient arms:

If Uribe and the Brewers can keep their season going, he could join another list. Per Elias, here are the pitchers who have appeared in the highest percentage of team games in a single postseason (minimum 10 games):

“I’ve been taking advantage of the days off,” Uribe said during an interview in both Spanish and his ever-improving English, with Brewers coach Nestor Corredor interpreting where necessary. “My mindset is I’m ready to go every day, and the way we are, the goal will be to be ready every day.”

The cautionary tale is Morrow, who was running on fumes by Game 5 of the 2017 World Series, in which he faced four Astros batters, all reaching and all scoring to blow the save, without registering an out. He did pitch a scoreless inning in Game 6 and got one clean out in Game 7, but he posted an 8.44 ERA in the series while pitching in all seven games.

Through his six appearances, Uribe has thrown six innings with just one unearned run allowed, while striking out five. His latest assignment required four outs, including a strikeout of Mookie Betts in the eighth before Aaron Ashby took over for a five-out save.

Uribe’s excitement spilled into the dugout, where he smacked his glove against the bench. Asked whether that was anger or happiness, he clarified: “I was a little extra excited.”

“He’s got a great personality. He’s a wonderful human being. A little crazy at times,” Brewers closer Trevor Megill said. “But that’s what makes us love him so much, just that passion and fire. It’s very easy to be drawn to a person like that whose sole purpose out here is to win games and compete.”

Uribe has plenty of company.

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Ashby has pitched in five of Milwaukee’s six postseason games, closing the door in Game 2 while Megill got loose in the bullpen, just in case. Ashby followed Dustin May, JoJo Romero and Uribe for a bullpen performance that made postseason history.

Their five innings were the most all-perfect frames by a bullpen in a postseason game. Through six games, Milwaukee’s relievers have allowed just three runs (one earned) in 28 2/3 innings (0.31 ERA).

“I know that they’ve got good arms; so do we,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think they’re just finding ways to win pitches better than we are. Sometimes, you’ve got to find a way to get a base hit, and those guys [Brewers hitters], there’s a lot of balls that weren’t hit hard but found the outfield grass. That’s hitting.”

The workload has required Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy and his staff to weigh matchups, availability and how often Dodgers hitters see the same arms -- often a key factor in seven-game series. Murphy described reading the game as it unfolded on Monday, with Ashby’s effectiveness and Uribe’s matchup against Betts among the considerations.

The pitchers aren’t making themselves scarce.

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Asked whether he and Uribe would fight to open the bullpen doors, Ashby had a practical objection.

“I’m not going to ever fight Abner,” Ashby said. “That’s a business decision. But I would certainly try and convince him with my words to let me go in the game.”

Everyone wants the ball. For Chad Patrick, one of three Brewers pitchers -- Shane Drohan and Kyle Harrison are the others -- waiting to make his first appearance of this postseason, it’s been fun to watch.

“You feel pretty secure in these situations,” Patrick said, “and you know they’re gonna get the job done.”

Said Uribe: “We just go out and compete pitch by pitch. Doesn’t matter what the situation is, just compete.”

Six games in, he hasn’t missed his turn.

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