How Brewers’ Pat Murphy Has Fared in Milwaukee’s First 47 Games

Dare we say, Murph is cooking?

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy is shown during the first inning of their game against the Arizona Diamond Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Is it even possible to win three straight Manager of the Year Awards in Major League Baseball? If so, Milwaukee Brewers skipper Pat Murphy should be the man to do it.

Even after winning 97 games and a third-straight division title last year, the Brewers seemed to be everyone’s heavy underdogs in fthe National League Central. The rival Chicago Cubs made marquee acquisitions in the offseason, while the Brewers traded away ace Freddy Peralta and their solid starting third baseman, Caleb Durbin. 

Against the Cubs this week, however, Murphy’s Brewers showed all the reasons why the division as run through them for most of the decade. They’ve established a 1 1/2-game lead atop the division after trailing by 5 1/2 less than two weeks ago. And Murphy’s fingerprints are all over the team’s May breakout, as one might expect.

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What Pat Murphy has done best this season

May 19, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy (49) looks out from the dugout before the game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

When the Brewers were struggling at times, it was easy to come up with excuses. Within the first couple weeks of the season, they were suddenly without Jackson Chourio, Andrew Vaughn, and Christian Yelich on offense. The Brewers righted the ship quickly after a six-game losing streak with a bare-bones offense, then started hitting their stride once those three studs reentered the picture. 

Murphy’s management of the pitching staff has been fantastic as well, and as unsustainable as the statistic may be, Aaron Ashby’s major league-leading eight wins are a strong illustration of what’s been working. The skipper puts his best relievers in the game at exactly the right moments to keep the Brewers on the attack offensively, and the injury to lefty Angel Zerpa only makes that task trickier. 

Even without a consistent left side of the infield, and even with injury setbacks for rotation standouts Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester, the Brewers have arrived to the ballpark every day and outworked their opponents. That’s Murphy’s calling card, and this team is executing it better than ever on its way to a 29-18 start. 

Who’s to say the Brewers couldn’t finish with the best record in the NL again? What Murphy and his club really want is a World Series, but the job they’re doing through the first 47 games simply has to be commended.