MILWAUKEE -- Brewers manager Pat Murphy had one priority for Sunday’s regular-season finale. Well, two, if you start with the obligatory imperative to get through it healthy.
It wasn’t necessarily to set the franchise record with victory No. 97, which the Brewers achieved by beating the Reds, 4-2, at American Family Field with a go-ahead home run from catcher Danny Jansen, a two-inning tuneup for presumptive National League Division Series Game 1 starter Freddy Peralta and an encouraging inning for All-Star closer Trevor Megill in his return from the injured list -- all on an afternoon Cincinnati had a postseason berth on the line.
It was to find the fire that fueled Milwaukee’s unexpected journey to this point.
“I want to match [the Reds’] competitiveness today,” Murphy said on Sunday morning. “For me, that’s an important segment here as we wind up. I want to compete.”
And that’s what they did, coming back from an early 2-0 deficit to avoid getting swept going into a weeklong layoff ahead of an NLDS matchup against the Padres or Cubs. The Reds, too, were postseason-bound by virtue of the Mets completing their late-season collapse with a loss in Miami, giving the NL Central three playoff teams for the first time in a full season since 2015.
Having already locked up a third consecutive NL Central title, the best record in the Major Leagues and home-field advantage all the way through the World Series if they can get that far, Sunday’s finale gave the 2025 Brewers one final accomplishment for the record books. At 97-65, this was the winningest of the 57 seasons in franchise history, besting the 96-win Brewers teams of 2011 and '18.
“I think probably that’s the best team that we have [had], because nobody was expecting this,” said Peralta, who was limited to two innings and 44 pitches to keep him fresh for NLDS Game 1 on Saturday. “Our name is going to be somewhere [in the record books] after this season, hopefully to make it bigger. But I’m really proud of what we achieved this regular season.”
Those 96-win Brewers teams surged to the finish line of the regular season. This 97-win team didn’t, going 19-21 in the wake of the franchise-record 14-game winning streak that all but locked Milwaukee into postseason position, and a modest 12-12 in September.
But a record’s a record. And now they only need 11 more victories.
“We were in a situation that we, as a group, got together, and we were like, ‘We are better than this,’” Peralta said. “Especially what we did for two months straight. June and July [and August] were special. We had to remind each other that we need to get better, and we did.
“We probably could be better in the last three/four series, but we just have to put that together in the playoffs now.”
Peralta will lead the way into the playoffs as the Game 1 starter. Of his regular-season accomplishments, he’s proudest of making all 33 starts, which was critical for a team that limped into the year with seven starting pitchers on the injured list by the middle of April.
But it’s the other numbers that will land Peralta on NL Cy Young Award ballots as they are submitted in the next 24 hours. He finished 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA and 204 strikeouts in 176 2/3 innings, making him the fifth pitcher in Brewers history with a sub-2.75 ERA in more than 175 innings.
Sunday’s tune-up began a solid day of pitching for the Brewers, who saw the returns of Megill and left-hander DL Hall from the IL; a scoreless, hitless, two-inning stint from left-hander Aaron Ashby and six-up, six-down work over the final two innings from Jared Koenig and Abner Uribe. All will be critical come October, particularly Megill if he can get back into All-Star form in a hurry after missing more than a month with a right flexor strain.
Based on how he felt Sunday, Megill said he’ll be on the NLDS roster and ready for any role, even if that means Uribe remaining the closer.
“It doesn’t really matter to me,” Megill said. “We’re just trying to win some freaking games and get to the World Series and win it.”
They would have had that chance after Sunday, win or lose. But it sure felt good to go into the postseason with a win.
“The best thing about it is to have the best record in baseball,” said Brewers associate manager Rickie Weeks, who hit leadoff for the 96-win Brewers in 2011. “But I didn’t hear anyone talking about getting the record [for team wins]. The main thing we have to do now is keep at the forefront that we’re trying to get somewhere.”