SAN DIEGO — Garrett Mitchell was at the right place at the right time.
So was Pat Murphy.
Mitchell, the Brewers' center fielder, took a potential two-run homer away from Manny Machado with a catch above the wall during the eighth inning of Wednesday's Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Padres, preserving the Brewers’ two-run lead in an eventual NLDS-clinching 3-1 victory.
"Just trying to get back to the wall. The ball was hit really well," Mitchell said. "It kind of just happened. Instinctually just do what I do, make a good jump and see what happens. I was able to get back to the ball and make the play."
The catch was the exclamation point on a night where Mitchell also drove in the game's first run and later scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning.
Before Wednesday's game, Mitchell was struggling over the first three games of the series while going 2-for-12 with six strikeouts.
And he wasn't alone.
First baseman Jake Bauers, the team's leading home run hitter during the regular season, entered the night 2-for-11 with six strikeouts. Four of those K's came during Tuesday's 4-3 Brewers loss to San Diego.
Second baseman Brice Turang came in 1-for-11 after he snapped an 0-for-10 clip with a blooped single in Game 3.
Murphy took all three left-handed hitters aside individually when they got to Petco Park early Wednesday afternoon.
"He didn't say anything that I didn't already know, but it was good to have the conversation, have someone else tell me that it was kind of time to refocus a little bit," Bauers said. "I was just trying to do way too much and so to hear him say, 'Hey man, just be you.' It was a good reminder, for sure."
Murphy pointed out that the playoffs are no time to agonize over personal numbers and performance.
"Turang, Garrett, Bauers hadn't had a great game yesterday," Murphy said. "Look at the overall offensive line in the postseason, it's so minuscule because the pitching is right on top of you. It's over and over the best pitchers. That keeps it from getting comfortable.
"You've got matchups all throughout the game, and it's hard to build numbers. It's those guys' willingness to stick in there and be a teammate and not get down on themselves when things don't go their way. You just can't. You just have to keep your head up and know this is part of the game."
Message received, and results cultivated.
Over four plate appearances, Bauers drew three walks, hit a leadoff single to right field in the sixth inning and scored an insurance run on Sal Frelick's sacrifice fly.
"It definitely helped me tonight," Bauer said of his talk with Murphy.
Turang went 1-for-5 but notched a hard-hit single to left field in the seventh inning. Mitchell went 2-for-4.
With Frelick on second base in the third inning, Mitchell ripped a 110.3 mph RBI single to center field off Walker Buehler for the game's first run – marking the only time the Brewers scored first in any of the series' four games. Leading off the fifth inning against lefty pitcher Robbie Ray, Mitchell pulled a triple down the right-field line. He scored on Jackson Chourio's one-out single.
“Just slowed it down a little bit," Mitchell said. "You know, it’s funny. You have games like yesterday, where you feel like things aren’t going your way, and put a little bit of pressure on yourself."
And then of course, there was that catch that robbed Machado of a game-tying homer.
"It's unfortunate, man," said Machado. "Nice play. Should have hit it harder."
A two-time NL Manager of the Year Award winner who could net a third this year after the Brewers won an MLB-best 103 games in the regular season, Murphy has shown he knows how to push the right buttons from the dugout.
But Murphy's ability behind the scenes to connect with his players and motivate them appears to be his superpower.
"All year, Murph has trusted and believed in me," Mitchell said. "Through mistakes, through the ups and the downs, he's always said that he believed in me and has given me every opportunity to continue to go out there and be myself and I haven't had a better coach than Murph."
It's also Murphy knowing when to pick his spots in speaking to a player.
"That's something he does really well," Bauers said. "Any time you have a one-on-one with Murph, it's not necessarily a bad thing. But you know something's got to give a little bit. But we were on the same page. I fell asleep thinking about last night, so to come out and put up some better at-bats was a win for sure."