NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DODGERS VS BREWERS

October 11, 2026

Pat Murphy

American Family Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Brewers - 2, Dodgers - 1

Q. When you think about a defensive effort like the one you had tonight with all the double plays, are you a believer that great defense like that can be contagious in a good way?

PAT MURPHY: You can't get to this point without great defense, you really can't. We haven't turned as many double plays in the postseason as you'd like, but tonight it was key.

Mis, say what you want, you didn't see 105, whatever, but whenever he got in a jam, he got better. He gave us 4 1/3, and our bullpen continues to be really special.

If you could see, JP, Brice Turang, who had an incredible defensive game, like first play of the game and part of turning two tough double plays, if you could see how many hours he's put in the cage the last two days, it's pure and simple. He's been in there above and beyond.

You guys were in there, remember, when Brice was in there late at night?

It's just great to see him come back and have an offensive game like that and a defensive game like that.

Q. That swing against a fastball that's on the inner rail, to be able to put that where he did, how do you describe the work?

PAT MURPHY: That's what he was working on, exactly. Instead of his hands dropping and cutting across, to just get straight to the baseball. We were talking to hitting coaches, we were talking like sometimes facing a lefty gets you more locked in than anything because you know you got to stay tight and you know you got to stay square.

That was a sensational performance. You can't underestimate what Contreras does for us behind the dish and the game he called, and some of his ABS, even in the ninth, that ABS was spot on.

And to see Lara come through, a big base hit at a big time. Cooper Pratt at whatever years old he is getting a sac bunt down in a big situation. Just proud of our guys. Ashby and Uribe and DL Hall, the job they did, and Megill, just proud of the guys.

Q. Skubal had you guys expanding the zone a lot those first few innings. What shift did you see in the at-bats that second time through against him that allowed you guys to break through?

PAT MURPHY: Every pitcher is different, but this guy was incredible today. He was pounding a fastball into righties. He was really more effective against righties than against lefties, but when the leadoff guy gets on sometimes, by walking he's a threat to steal, and sometimes that can alter the way the guy goes about it.

I thought that little getting a guy in scoring position, he tried to get ahead with a change-up to Lara, left it where he didn't want to. Other than that, he was dominant. He was dominant. The swing by Turang and then one pitch he left up to Lara, he was pretty dominant.

Vaughn had a good swing, I guess in the first inning. I guess that was a fastball inner half. But he was really special.

Q. What did you make of Misiorowski tonight and just the stuff that he was able to have for this one?

PAT MURPHY: I thought he was great. Pitching a series like this, his innings are up to almost 190 this year. That's way over, way over what he's ever done. The kid's bound to be a little bit tired, you know what I mean? You can't expect him to understand what this is all about going this far and having to pitch this much this year with the pressure he's had on him.

Again, he gave us 13 outs. I thought he was really good. His stuff wasn't great, no, it wasn't, but it's still pretty darn good.

Q. With Uribe you haven't necessarily been using him as strictly an eighth inning, seventh inning guy, but specifically against the best of the best, both in the Padres series and here against the Dodgers. Was that a conscious decision you made going into the playoffs or just kind of how the game's rolled out?

PAT MURPHY: I've got to be honest with you, most of the decisions I make, not all, are conscious. I mean, I am conscious when I'm making them. A couple, as you might expect, I make unconsciously.

No, of course. Uribe is a monster, man. He's a guy you want out there in every big situation. And the great thing is he wants to be out there in every big situation. He may not be conscious, but he is definitely competing.

Q. Congratulations. Did you say anything to Mis after a rough second inning to help him keep going strong? Because he came back out there and did great.

PAT MURPHY: We have a stick, a paddle. I don't know if your parents use that, but we have a paddle we keep in the back out there, and we just paddle him. I think I struck him seven or eight times, but then after that, he seemed to get the message.

(Laughter.)

Q. The way you managed the inning where you got the go-ahead run, using Pratt to bunt, setting up Lara against one of the best pitchers in the game, for a national audience a lot of people are looking at who is this rookie that he's setting this up for, but what does that just say about the confidence you have in Lara?

PAT MURPHY: Lara does -- he didn't come into this thing thinking he was playing in the Big Leagues this year, and he didn't come into this thing knowing who Skubal was, you know. So that's kind of a beautiful innocence.

But he is very committed to team. He's very committed to not letting his teammates down, and I think that's what makes the guy special at this point. Both him and Pratt are up here not knowing they were going to be in the Big Leagues, and they both are very conscientious about getting it done the right way. They're more concerned about not letting their teammates down than not letting a national audience down.

Q. You talked about the bullpen being special. Is part of that just the way they've been able to come in any situation, go as many outs as you ask, and as you say, stay in the now?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah. DL Hall has emerged as a guy we really trust, but the other three, Uribe, Ashby, and Megill, I don't know how you could get more out of them. We're squeezing everything we can, and they just get better and more confident. They're making pitches and pick each other up. They don't care. They just want to get outs for the Milwaukee Brewers, and that's the beauty of it.

Everything else that will come their way will be a result of just caring so much about the team and not just about themselves.