MILWAUKEE -- Pat Murphy’s message Friday night was simple.
“You [can] check that box. Now, [onto the] next.”
Less than 24 hours after clinching a postseason berth with a historic 20-0 rout of the Reds, the Brewers went right back to work Saturday night at American Family Field. And if there was any concern that Milwaukee might ease off the gas after accomplishing its first major goal of the season, its offense quickly put that idea to rest, ambushing Cincinnati’s pitching in a 13-9 win.
Brice Turang launched his career-high 19th homer of the season two batters into the bottom of the first inning, and Garrett Mitchell followed with a no-doubter of his own as Milwaukee jumped ahead 4-0. After the Reds battled back to tie the game at 5-5 in the fourth, William Contreras answered by clearing the left-field wall for a three-run homer that put the Brewers back in front, 8-5.
Then came another avalanche. Milwaukee piled on five more runs in the fifth inning, stretching its advantage and continuing an offensive outburst that has consumed nearly every inning of this series. Mitchell was 4-for-4 and a triple shy of the cycle through five innings, Cooper Pratt had three hits and seven of Milwaukee’s nine starters had already joined the hit parade.
It was a fitting response from a team that spent much of Friday night insisting that simply reaching October wasn’t enough. The Brewers briefly celebrated their eighth postseason berth in nine seasons with a clubhouse toast before immediately turning their attention toward everything still in front of them.
“This isn’t the end goal,” Turang said Friday. “We all know what the end goal is, and that’s what we’re chasing. So this is a small little step. We just enjoy it tonight, and then tomorrow we go out and try to win a game.”
They certainly brought the offense with them.
Through the first 13 innings of this series, Milwaukee has collected 37 hits and scored 33 runs -- the most in a two-game span in franchise history. Their previous best was 32 runs in two games on July 8 and 11, 1990.
One night after setting a Major League record for the largest victory by a team on the day it clinched a postseason berth, the Brewers turned the encore into another offensive masterpiece.