NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DODGERS VS BREWERS

October 12, 2025

Brice Turang

Caleb Durbin

Chad Patrick

American Family Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Brice, with a team like this, a catcher who's missed a little bit of time with a hand injury, coming back now, can you take advantage on the base paths a little bit? Are you going to test him, be a little aggressive early in the series or just be yourselves?

BRICE TURANG: I think just being ourselves is a big factor of why we're here. And so we'll talk about that in the meetings and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, we're just going to play our game that we know how to play.

Q. This series inevitably is going to be billed as David versus Goliath. Do you think it's fair to be the best team in baseball and still be considered the under dog? Or how do you view yourselves in the scope of this series?

CALEB DURBIN: I think that's kind of been the narrative all year long. So it's not really anything new. Since Opening Day, that's been kind of the idea, but I think we just really worry about ourselves, and that's why we've been able to click throughout the entire year.

It's not really about who is on the other side; it's about us. Obviously the Dodgers have a really good team over there, but it's no different this series.

Q. Chad, how has your outlook on your role on this team changed in the last 24 hours? And who did you hear from after your performance last night?

CHAD PATRICK: I think it's more of just a bulldog mentality, just going out there and being able to execute pitches and get outs and get back in the dugout.

I've heard from a lot of people I still haven't got back to. But just bulldog mentality, for sure.

Q. Even though a different round, more expectations, but in a way, can you play more free because of so much pressure the last round to finally end that playoff drought?

BRICE TURANG: I think, at the end of the day, you've just got to -- it's like wins and losses all throughout the season. We'd all say, you just move on and you've got to worry about winning tonight.

I think that kind of goes into this series. You forget about what happened yesterday and you go on and try to win tonight, try to win every pitch.

We've got a good locker room who believes in themselves and that's the most important thing.

So going into tomorrow's game just worried about tomorrow's game and not thinking about yesterday or the next day, just thinking about playing the game and winning every pitch.

Q. It used to be hitting 97 or 98 on the radar gun was noteworthy. Now it's, like, you look around your bullpen, it's triple digits everywhere. What's it like to see Jacob or Trevor, it's 100 from all these guys, Ashby as well?

CHAD PATRICK: Obviously it caught me off guard the first time I saw it. But I think it just goes with -- from the work in the weight room, doing what everyone's asked of and myself.

But, yeah, the average fastball is, what, 96 now? So I think the whole year I was probably three to four and kind of just made a transition to letting it eat for three, four, five outs.

Q. Chad, some guys go to the bullpen, we see them simplify the mix, one, two pitches. You have been able to keep working everything in -- four-seam, cutters, sinkers, sliders, all that stuff. Go through the process of wanting to keep diverse instead of just cutter, cutter, cutter.

CHAD PATRICK: I think it's more of you don't want to just feed fastballs, so I've been able to add the curveball, or slurve, whatever it's called, just to keep them off the heaters.

We get our little note card, and just attack where the weaknesses are.

Q. We talked about it a little last night after the game, but what do you think you learned about yourself this year with the up-and-down and kind of the struggles you went through and then getting back and getting a role on this team and pitching as well as you have been?

CHAD PATRICK: I think it's more of just not riding a roller coaster and staying even-keel, and whatever happens that day happens. At the end of the day, you're trying to be the best version of yourself. That's what I'm able to do every day.

Q. After pitching as a starter for most of the year, you pitched four times in one series here out of the bullpen. What's the adjustment been like for you physically, just the increased frequency of outings here lately?

CHAD PATRICK: I think it's just understanding that it's all hands on deck and just being able to be ready, taking care of the body, making sure that we're eating the right things, we're seeing the training staff to be ready for these games.

But I'm honestly ready for anything because yesterday it was just win or go home. And then this series is going to be another version of that with I think it's, what, two off, three in a row. Just being ready.

Q. Caleb, how does the relationships you guys have in the clubhouse, the tight knit, translate to what goes on out on the field?

CALEB DURBIN: I think it's huge. I think it's been a big separator for us. I don't know what's going on in other clubhouses, but I think it's just that chemistry that you have in the clubhouse builds that trust on the field.

There's something about, especially, these playoff games, you just feel like the person at the plate's going to come through, and you feel like the dude on the mound is going to get the job done. I think that stems from the chemistry we have in the clubhouse. We're all really great friends.

It's funny, because they talk about this power of friendship, but I think to a certain extent it's a real thing because you definitely see it in the clubhouse. It just builds that trust on the field.

Q. Caleb, your shirt says "Built for Fall." Those of us who observe would say you're also built for the Brewers. Did you just because your hustle, you do all the little things, did you sense that when you were traded over here, that this was a really good spot for you to develop?

CALEB DURBIN: Yeah. I mean right away I looked at -- I knew they had a really good season the year before. And definitely did a little bit of studying on who my teammates were going to be. It did look like it was a lot of guys who had a similar skill set to what I brought to the table, which is really exciting for me because I knew I was going to learn a ton from them, and it was going to help me grow my skill set even more, especially with this coaching staff really valuing what I kind of bring to the table has only helped me get better at the things I was already good at, I think.

Q. Caleb and Chad, how do you guys process getting this opportunity as rookies, and just how guys like Brice and the veteran guys can help you guys through this, and how they've picked you guys up at different times during the season?

CALEB DURBIN: I think just seeing the way everyone still goes about the day-to-day in the postseason really helps because they're treating it the same as they did throughout the regular season. So that kind of helps you settle into the moment a little bit more.

I think when you put everything in perspective, it can get overwhelming because it's a really cool experience that we get to have as rookies. So I think just staying in the moment, and all the vets tell you it's the same game.

I think that kind of helps you just stay in the moment. Again, it's pitch to pitch every time we're on the field. So I think that definitely helps with that.

CHAD PATRICK: I mean, I went up to Miz before Game 2, kind of knew that we were both going to get in the game, and just said, not a lot of guys like us get this opportunity our first year in the big leagues, so just go out there with everything you have and just attack the zone.

I think just having veteran leadership on the pitching side, anyways, has been helpful, like Woodruff, Peralta and Quintana. And I think that goes a long way throughout the whole season. I've gotten really close with those guys, too.

I try to get close with hitters. It kind of segregates, I feel like, because you've got the pitchers on one side, hitters on the other side. But, yeah, this team is built for success.

Q. Caleb, a whole group of the country of baseball fans, and probably the whole world will be exposed to Murph in this series. Could you, to the best of your ability, describe what it's like to play for the person that Murph is and the character he is?

CALEB DURBIN: I think that the word that comes to my mind is just "free." Playing for Murph allows you to be free because he wants you to be who you are. And there's a really good combination of, he's holding you to a certain standard that he's going to make you play a certain style of baseball that he thinks is the right way, but he also wants you to be yourself and play your game.

And he believes in every single person individually and believes in us as a team. I think we definitely feel that in the clubhouse when your leader, the guy that's at the head of the table is the right person and believes in all of us, it takes a lot of pressure off of us, I think.

Q. Brice, a lot is going to be made externally of low payroll versus high payroll, average Joes versus Hollywood. Do you enjoy that? Do you enjoy that kind of narrative, especially being the lower payroll team and everything?

BRICE TURANG: I don't know if I could say I enjoy it. We have a good team. It doesn't necessarily always matter. At some point maybe. But it's the belief in each other, the belief in yourselves that is what's got us here. It's not us looking at the payroll or making excuses for it. Like, this is what we've got. This is who we are.

So, I don't know, I don't look too much into it because I believe and trust in every guy in the locker room, no matter how much money they're making. And that's why we're here.

We've got a good group of guys. The power of friendship, as people say. Like he said, it's a real thing. We've got a good group of guys who believe in themselves, and they go out there and do what they do best. And that's kind of all you can really ask from them. It's been a great time. It's been really fun.

Q. Brice, as a really good defender like you are, could you speak to the progress that Caleb has made at third base this year.

BRICE TURANG: Yeah, it's the work. I mean, every day he's out there taking extra ground balls during batting practice. That kind of speaks for the type of player he is. He's putting the work in.

And doing stuff like that helps you defensively. It's made him a better defender. And it helps you maybe read the right hops or stuff like that.

And, so, it's all the work you put in is what you get out of it. And he's done a phenomenal job. It's fun to watch. It's fun to play with him.

Q. Brice, the results haven't necessarily been there for you last series until that home run you hit last night. An at-bat like that, to get a breaking ball away and stay on it and go 400-plus feet to center, is that the kind of at-bat that you walk away from thinking things are clicking again and you're in a good spot?

BRICE TURANG: I felt good. I felt good the whole series. I was just mis-hitting a little underneath the ball. It's just, you've got to move on, you can't dwell on it, you can't -- you've got to go next at-bat, next at-bat. You try to do that all season, but especially in the postseason. You've got to play all the outs. You've got to go back out on defense and play all the outs.

I knew I was on it, just mis-hitting a little bit. And I wanted to be aggressive that at-bat, and I got the pitch to do it on. Yeah, but I didn't feel like -- it wasn't like, oh, man, I don't feel right. I felt fine. I felt good. Just a little click off.