Pat Murphy: Brewers 'Don't Care' They're Facing One of Best Teams Ever

Brewers manager Pat Murphy believes his team is playing like they don't want to be denied a championship after taking a 2-0 NLCS lead.

Oct 12, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy (00) walks to the dugout after removing pitcher Abner Uribe (not pictured) from the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning in game two of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Milwaukee Brewers are sitting pretty after back-to-back wins against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Per OptaSTATS, the Brewers became the first team to defeat a reigning Cy Young Award Winner (Tarik Skubal) and a World Series MVP (Yoshinobu Yamamoto) in back-to-back games, regular season or postseason, since the 2002 St. Louis Cardinals.

The @Brewers are the first MLB team to have the previous year's Cy Young winner (Skubal) & World Series MVP (Yamamoto) as the opposing SP in back-to-back games (either order, reg or post) & win both since the Cardinals did so in Games 1 & 2 of the 2002 NLDS (Johnson/Schilling). pic.twitter.com/snTOk2JqNM

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 13, 2026

"They're hungry, that's the big difference," Brewers manager Pat Murphy told Zach Heilprin of 96.7 FM & 1670 AM The Zone Madison. "This year, they don't want to be denied. They are going against arguably one of the best teams in baseball ever put together. And they don’t care."

The Brewers are in a much different position than they were a year ago. Murphy saw they ran into a buzzsaw team despite leading MLB with 97 wins. They lost the first two games of the NLCS at home and never recovered.

This postseason, they head to Dodger Stadium with a commanding 2-0 series lead. They're two wins away from their first World Series since 1982. The Brewers will still have to finish the job, knowing that they're facing one of the best teams ever put together.

Brewers Manager Pat Murphy on William Contreras' Big Night

Oct 12, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) reacts while running after hitting an RBI single against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brock Stewart (not pictured) during the sixth inning in game two of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

William Contreras had one of his best games in a Brewers uniform. He became just the fourth player in MLB postseason history to have three hits that either tied or gave his team the lead. That list includes Sandy Alomar Jr., George Brett and Steve Garvey.

"You watch him compete every night, you watch him go about his business, there's nobody that wants it more," said Pat Murphy on MLB Network's coverage of his postgame presser. "This kid wants it. He doesn't believe in days off. He doesn't believe in being injured. He wants to excel.

"It's not enough to make the All-Star team. He wants to excel, he wants it all."

Thanks to Contreras' big night, the Brewers picked up a huge win. His sixth-inning single gave Milwaukee the lead for good, allowing the bullpen to close the game out.

Pat Murphy Presses All the Right Buttons in NLCS Game 2 Win

Every button Murphy has pushed in this series has worked. For Game 2, he penciled in David Hamilton at third base despite Yoshinobu Yamamoto carrying reverse platoon splits for his career.

Hamilton responded with a huge game. He reached base three times with a couple of stolen bases, caused a throwing error on a pickoff attempt, and scored the three runs that decided the game.

"Sometimes that stuff affects the pitcher and affects the balance of the game, that [steal] threat we talk about, so he didn't have to steal a base," Murphy told Brewer Fanatic's Jack Stern. "He made a good read. That's all those little things in baserunning that make a difference."

Murphy has also heavily relied on his excellent bullpen, which has a 0.38 ERA in the postseason. Once again, he asked Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby to get some big outs toward the end of the game. The two relievers got the final nine outs to finish off a record-breaking performance by the Brewers bullpen.