MILWAUKEE – Brewers manager Pat Murphy wasn’t ready to say Wednesday afternoon what, if anything, he’ll do differently in the ninth inning while struggling closer Trevor Megill tries to get on track. But Murphy stood by everything he said the night before, in the wake of a particularly wrenching loss.
Yes, the Brewers played poorly during their six-game losing streak. Yes, Megill’s struggles played a role. Yes, the team might have to make some different choices if Megill can’t get straightened out – like what promptly happened when Murphy summoned Abner Uribe instead of Megill for the final three outs of Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the Blue Jays at American Family Field.
But no, Murphy said, Megill doesn’t deserve boos.
“The fans booing him after he saved 30 games for this team?” Murphy said Tuesday night, referring to Megill’s regular-season total last season, when the right-hander was a National League All-Star. “A kid that’s been through all he’s been through? What he did [in 2024] to help us win the division? And what he did last year, he came out with an arm injury and [came back to] pitch one of the biggest innings of Game 5 [of the NLDS]?
“For them to be booing him up there, that’s not our best fans, that’s for sure. We have great fans, and let’s remind them. They are OK to be disappointed, but sometimes young men go through tough stuff. I was disappointed that those people weren’t supporting him when he was going through that tough stuff.
“Does he probably care? No. Is it expected? That’s fine. But these aren’t machines out there. They’re people. I thought that was in poor taste, but I’ve done things in poor taste, too. I’ll forgive them.”
Murphy’s comments were fodder for social media and talk radio throughout the day Wednesday, where the most common argument went like this:
If I paid for a ticket, I can cheer if I want to cheer, and I can boo if I want to boo.
Murphy didn’t dispute that. But he’s still going to speak up and defend his players every time. Even the struggling players. Especially the struggling players.
“We all have to pull together,” Murphy said Wednesday afternoon. “This fanbase has been unbelievable, and they’ve been a big part of us. We mention it over and over, only because it’s true. …
“But the fans are jumping on you when you’re in this state? Stop. That’s not who you are. That’s not the fans the players just love, and tell people this is the greatest place to play because of this.”
Murphy said he’s likely to mix and match the ninth, which is not a change from the games so far this season, he said. Megill will remain in that mix and is not getting a break from save opportunities, Murphy said. But Uribe was the choice on Wednesday, and he delivered a 1-2-3 inning on 12 pitches, one of his sharpest outings so far.
“I knew he could get it done. I was certain,” Murphy said. “I didn’t want to put that on Trevor with all he’s going through. He stayed up for hours trying to correct anything he could correct in his delivery, or anything he was tipping [pitches] whatever.
“He was exhausted. Today, I looked in his eyes and he was wearing it. He cares.”
Statcast offers a window into that. Here are some of Megill’s numbers going into Wednesday night compared to the entirety of last year.
Fastball Velocity: 97.5 mph (-1.7 mph)
Slugging percentage: .455 (+.129)
Expected slugging percentage: .543 (+.179)
Hard hit percentage: 52.6% (+13.5%)
Whiff percentage: 31.1% (-0.3%)
First strike percentage: 65.5% (-2.2%)
Strikeout percentage: 17.2% (-14.1%)
Walk percentage: 13.8% (+4.9%)
“Let’s just hit spots first and go from there,” Megill said. “It’s kind of the same velos from last season at this time. I’m just not executing and not getting it done right now.”
He was right about the velocity. In six appearances prior to April 15 last year, his fastball averaged 97.7 mph – just 0.2 mph up from this season so far.
“Is he throwing the ball well? No. Is he giving up hard contact? Yes. Do they swing at it like they know it’s coming? Yes,” Murphy said. “But did the guy save 30 games for us last year? I think he did.
“So, my heart goes out to him right now. It bleeds for him because he’s feeling it.”