NL DIVISION SERIES: CUBS VS BREWERS

October 7, 2025

Pat Murphy

Wrigley Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Can I prevail upon you to provide an update on Jackson Chourio's condition, how he's feeling and how he came through the game last night?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, we took him out late. He felt it again, and we'll treat him today, and hopefully he'll have a light day, and hopefully he'll be good to go.

Q. Do you see it going like that, just the nature of the hamstring, that he'll play the games and probably keep it light otherwise?

PAT MURPHY: I think so.

Q. Can you talk about the difference in coaching in college and the major leagues? What worked for you so well in college and probably wouldn't work for you here in the majors?

PAT MURPHY: It's just a whole different world, you know? It's harness racing versus thoroughbred racing. It's a different world.

I don't mean to discredit the college game in any way. I love the college game, and I'm very thankful for my time there.

But it's a totally different game. It's a totally different group that you're dealing with. You've got guys that are 18 through 22 versus guys that here are -- I mean, we've got some young ones, but it's just they've been through a lot more in the game so they approach the game differently.

The biggest difference is, though, 162 is so much different than playing on weekends, so much different.

There's some parts of the college game that I think the major league game would benefit from, but it happens because playoff baseball is more like that. It's win at all costs, do anything. There's no rules about when you put a guy in or who your definite seventh inning guy or eighth inning guy. I mean, best guy is on the mound as often as possible. So there's a lot of that.

But there's parallels, but what works and what doesn't, I did a lot of things in college baseball that I wasn't very good at impacting people that way I would have liked to. I think in college, you can have a way greater impact.

There's nothing actually that I do any different, I don't think, than any other coach that's up here doing things now. I don't think I have any insight into any better coaching techniques or whatever. I just don't. I don't believe that.

I'm just under construction trying to do what I can do, whatever role the manager has in the major leagues. But I don't think there's anything I'm taking from the college game that -- I think everybody's experience helps them. Am I answering your question at all or am I avoiding it?

Q. What didn't work for you -- what worked for you in college that you wouldn't use here?

PAT MURPHY: Brainwashing. You brainwash the players there a lot, and that doesn't work as well here. I've tried it, but you have more hold on them. You talk to them more often. You're in there more often. You know every little nook and cranny of their life. They're in a vulnerable time. We're dealing with guys that are professionals and well-established and in many cases way smarter than I am.

How you deal with individuals is way different here.

Q. Pat, you kind of talked about it in your answer, just playing with an edge. I just want to ask you about your group's overall competitiveness. 1 through 9, everybody has -- there's a confidence that's emanating from the group. Can you speak to just the genesis of the confidence that you guys tend to have or at least have shown so far?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I mean, you've heard this a lot. It's like making a soup. It's certain ingredients in there, and you stir it up, and you taste it. Oh, maybe not, and then more of this, and then somebody has a suggestion, try this, and then you try it, and oh, that's pretty good.

You just keep going. I think by nature, all these guys compete. Every team that's in MLB, they're going to compete. All of these games are going to come down to a play or two.

I'm blessed with a group that wants to play every pitch.

Q. With Quinn getting the start, what's impressed you about his growth this entire season?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah. How rapid it's been. Like this guy went from being a Triple-A pitcher for the last couple years to emerging as a real presence and giving his team a chance very often. Just to see that happen right before your eyes, it's pretty special.

He's still a young pitcher, very young.

Q. You had such an incredible home crowd for the first two games. What kind of environment are you expecting here tomorrow night at Wrigley, especially in this playoff series, this historic playoff series?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I've been lucky enough to be here a number of times in the last 10 years. I know how great this crowd can be and how impactful it can be, just like ours were the last two games. We've got a battle on our hands, and we know that.

The crowd will inevitably play a role in impacting the game.

Q. Going back to Jackson, at 21 years old, he's doing stuff that's just unbelievable. How does he play within himself? How is he mature beyond his years?

PAT MURPHY: You know, like every other 21 year old, he has his insecurities and he has his things that maybe get him derailed. But just in him, his expectations of himself on the baseball field and what he thinks he can do, it's remarkable, and he doesn't put limits on that. He's just a really great human being, also. Just a great human being.

To see him just, like, get fueled by the moment, it's unusual for someone that age. Most, it would push them back or maybe limit them. For Jackson, it fuels him.

Q. Talking about the atmosphere here, one of your games was game 163 in 2018. Do you have a particular memory of that day, and in the big picture, that wasn't win or go home because the loser played the Wild Card game, but what do you remember about the stakes of that day and how it compares to the game you'll play tomorrow?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I remember that vividly. I remember it being a day game, and Arcia and Aguilar didn't get out on the field until like a half hour before the game started. They hadn't played catch yet, stretched, taken a swing, and I was really like, wow, are they going to be ready?

They both played great that game. I mean, the crowd was electric. Felt like the ground was moving. It was a good moment.

I don't think the visitor's side was fixed up yet or the dugouts were changed, and that was just such a relic that made it all the more fun. You took a shower, and there's a foot of water, you're standing in a foot of water as you're showering, but somehow it felt good.

Q. Just with the bullpen usage last night, with the off-day today, do you anticipate everyone being a go tomorrow except for maybe Miz considering the pitch count?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I think Miz probably wouldn't be available. We'll see about Ashby. Yeah, I think other than that, everybody would be available.

Q. We all know the tough position that Rhys is in. How is he impacting the team when he's not able to play in a game? Is he still doing things behind the scenes? He's obviously a good teammate. How does he impact the team positively when he's not playing?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, he's a great voice for these young players. Just him walking by somebody and saying, hey, after an at-bat or something, he'll pat them or say, hey, you got another one, get it out of your mind, or whatever it is.

Yeah, he's a calming force. He's also well-respected and being genuine really adds to our whole unit.

It's not easy on him. He had a 750 OPS this year, so it's not like he didn't play good. We as a team weren't playing as good when he was playing good, so he doesn't look like he had the impact that he might have had.

Q. The old clubhouse had its charms here at Wrigley. From your perspective, though, on this series, it's one out at a time, one pitch at a time. It just seemed to go by so fast. Are you surprised at how fast your team has started in this series, really almost like an ambush?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, that was a message during the break. We talked kind of openly about the break; what is this going to be about. Everyone that I have talked to that's been way more experienced in the game that's had these breaks says it's awful and says it's hurtful. They had recommendations on this, that or the other thing, fans, no fans, scrimmage, no scrimmage, easy work, hard work.

I think we just openly discussed, like, what's for certain is when the bell rings, you've got to be ready that first pitch. That's essential. So wherever your mind is, whatever it takes to get into that fight mode, when the bell rings, bam, we're ready.

I think I'm most pleased at that. The response, both first innings the response, it's priceless.

Q. Murph, we know the players decide the games. They're the ones that win and lose it. But what do you know about Counsell when his back is against the wall as a competitor?

PAT MURPHY: I mean, I know too well what a great competitor he is. His own career, he was never a five-tool player, but he found a way to win championships and help his team. You can't ask a teammate on his Marlins team or his Diamondbacks team that doesn't revere the impact that he had on those teams, however young and however -- in 2001 with the D-backs, they rave about him, and he's right in the middle of it.

Then as a manager in the Big Leagues, I stood next to him for that many years and saw the way he washed off losses and saw the way he got teams ready to play. I have great respect for him and know what kind of competitor he is. And I respect the Cubs team. I think their team is really good. I think they're really, really good.

Yeah, I respect him.