NL DIVISION SERIES: CUBS VS BREWERS

October 4, 2025

Pat Murphy

American Family Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Brewers 9, Cubs 3

Q. What is Jackson's status right now?

PAT MURPHY: He's getting the MRI right now. Obviously it's real scary. Having that same hamstring injury to the same leg, we're hoping that it's something he can come back from soon.

We have no idea when that would be. He's just getting out of the tube right now. We'll have somebody look at it. Could be devastating.

Great first question.

Q. How happy were you with the way that your guys responded after that first inning and came out and set that tone?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, we talked during the week, one of the things we made a point of or maybe the main thing we talked about is promise me you'll be ready the first pitch. When the bell rings, you're ready. You don't get a couple rounds to figure out whether or not you want to fight. Be ready in the first round.

I thought the guys were certainly ready. There was things that go unnoticed, but the Perkins 10-pitch base hit, Perk saw 27 pitches today. Those are the uncommon things that you're looking for.

Perk is not a guy where you're thinking all that much offense, and it was that type of thing, and Freddy was obviously fantastic. Him and William navigated a really good lineup, a hot lineup, a lineup that's confident, experienced, a ton of All-Stars, ton of whatever.

They're a great club, and I thought Freddy and William did a great job navigating.

Q. Murph, with how many strikes Boyd throws kind of like we talked about earlier today, was the idea for guys to go up there at least ready to swing early in the count if they needed to?

PAT MURPHY: I think that's -- I don't know where people are coming up with we don't swing early in the count.

You know, you've got to get your pitch, as they say, and Boyd was coming back on short rest. We hit some balls where they weren't and we were ready, and I loved the at-bats early.

Late, we got a little -- but their relief pitching did a great job.

Q. The atmosphere today, you've been at a lot of Brewers-Cubs games where it's kind of 50/50. I don't know if you knew what to expect today, but what did you experience and did that impact the game?

PAT MURPHY: It didn't seem 50/50 for sure. It felt like a home game. It definitely felt like a home game. They were difference makers. Our guys feel that. They're not that experienced. There's a lot of young guys doing it for the first time, and they carry with them an awesome sense of responsibility.

To be ready today was fantastic, and the fans helped that. The fans were just -- they were in it from the first pitch.

That's rare. When it's the Cubs series, usually the Cubs have as many fans as we have, or not as many, but they're very, very loud. That was pretty cool. I thought it was definitely a difference.

Q. Within that first inning, just knowing how defensively sound this Cubs team usually is, what did you think of the way your guys capitalized on that mistake from Hoerner?

PAT MURPHY: That's a tough ball. That ball is spinning really funny off the bat. He's a Gold Glove performer, so I think that's just the stroke of luck or an aberration. He's not going to do that a lot. He's one of the best players in the game. He's one of the best baseball players in the game.

You've got to have that sometimes to get a big lead or extend an inning. That's how we've had to do it. Did we homer today? I don't think we homered.

Q. You just mentioned the players carry an awesome amount of responsibility. Could you expand upon that, where it comes from, what it entails?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, they've put this season together for themselves and they broke a franchise record for wins, and everybody talks about recently in the last how many years, since '18, we haven't won a playoff series.

Well, I bet you could count plus-20 teams in Major League Baseball out of 30 that haven't won a playoff series.

But to be there every year knocking on the door with some of the limitations we have is a credit to them and this new group, which was not that many returners and not that many additions. This new group really stepped up.

They're responsible to each other. Like hey, I'll take care of you, you take care of me. Today is your day, tomorrow will be my day. That team thing has been evident.

Now, that doesn't make us better than other teams, but I think other teams are probably doing that, too. But we've had a pretty good run of competing. We'll try to keep doing that.

Q. Murph, what was the concern level after the lead-off home run? How did you feel Freddy responded in that first inning, and then how does his approach change after a six-run first inning?

PAT MURPHY: Well, it's tougher to pitch 6-1 than you think. All of us can sit back and go, oh, you've got a five-run lead. It ain't easy. Against a lineup like that, this guy battled, battled, and made pitches over and over, made pitches.

Him and William together worked through this lineup that's a treacherous lineup that's seen Freddy many times. Those guys have been over there playing together for a number of years, and they've been good the last years.

So it's like, for him to do that shows the competitiveness. But I mean, the lead-off home run, it happens. That Busch kid is -- he's one of the best hitters -- he's got to be one of the hottest hitters in the game right now. What a find for them. What a move to get him in the roster. He's a great hitter.

Yeah, we were fortunate. But one run doesn't beat you. But you don't -- I think for Freddy, it was a slap in the face, and then he responded the way you do.

Q. Murph, can you say at this point who will start Game 2 for you?

PAT MURPHY: No, I can't, because we've really got to get together and see -- you just watched a guy go out there on short rest and what happened to him. You've got to really work through this thing with the off-days and who's available and what's our best sequence of doing things.

We'll gather up, the pitching coaches and I will gather up and finalize our stuff maybe later tonight or tomorrow morning.