Brewers End First Season Under New Regime With Nationals Split

The Brewers wrapped up the first season of my KPSL managerial career tonight in Washington. I'd taken 2 from Jeff before way back at the beginning of the season, in a very tense, low-scoring series. Now I lacked the pitching I had in order to contend back in the first half, but there was always a chance to upset the Nats, especially considering the series sweeps they were recovering from. 

Though the outcome was the same, a 2-2 split, the way we got there was far different. More runs, more lead changes, more blowouts, and more excitement. Couldn't expect anything less from a Jeff series. 

Here now the last writeup of the year for me:

Game 1: Nationals 3, Brewers 2 [F/10]

W: Derek Law

L: Jordan Hicks

This was the one where my rotten luck just kept building over time. As Jeff started a lefty who righties hit better, Jesus Luzardo, I stacked the lineup with them. But on a bad weather night in Washington, ballpark singles were only on a 1 for right-handers. How do I know this? Because I kept friggin rolling ballpark single chances with right-handers up. This happened FOUR TIMES this game. ALL FOUR WERE WITH RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION. It was excruciating. I should have gotten people home with Luzardo on, but I didn't. The lefty worked clean frames for 5 and a third, despite NINE guys left on base. 

Andrew Heaney, despite giving up a run on a Carson Kelly RBI single in the 4th, didn't do too badly honestly, only giving up 2 hits and striking out 4 in 6. But because my team could get nothing done with men on base, it was a lost gem. An RBI double by Matt Chapman in the 8th made it 2-0, and it was looking like a frustrating loss.

In the top of the 9th, with Kirby Yates on, the Brewers finally struck. Heliot Ramos singled on, then a homer by Isaac Paredes brought him home to tie the game. Conforto doubled on with two outs, and while a big contact moment from Gavin Lux could have put it out of reach, he flied out. The Brewers could manage nothing in the 10th, and with Jordan Hicks on, the Nats walked it off on a series of singles and little maneuvers. I was mostly just impressed I was able to make it an extra-innings game after all those missed opportunities. 

Game 2: Brewers 6, Nationals 4 [F/11]

W: Taylor Rogers

L: Derek Law

SV: Anthony Bender

This one was back-and-forth for its entire duration, thanks to great starts by Jameson Taillon and Tylor Megill. Megill struck out 7 Brewers, and gave up 2 runs on an RBI triple by Jeimer Candelario and a later RBI single by Kyle Stowers. Taillon only gave up a solo shot from Miguel Rojas, and was rolling through 6 only to get caught up at the very end of his start thanks to a 2-run bomb by Seiya Suzuki, following a solo shot from former Brewer Jared Triolo. What was once a palpable game was now 4-2.

In the eighth, the Brewers came roaring back thanks to a 2-run homer from Jackson Chourio, off of Sam Moll, tying the game at 4. And this would remain the score through regulation, thanks to some excellent work from both bullpens. The 10th would be scoreless as well, meaning it would be a matter of time before somebody put up a reliever that wasn't reliable. This time it was Jeff's turn, as Derek Law, the hero from last game, let Isaac Paredes single on only to give up a 2-run bomb to Jeimer Candelario. All that remained was for Anthony Bender to shut things down with 3 Ks and the Brewers got through a very tense extra innings battle. 

Game 3-Nationals 9, Brewers 3

W: Erick Fedde

L: Taylor Rogers

This one was going alright for a little while. Bailey Falter, despite his typical first inning meltdown [immediate, courtesy of a homer from Carson Kelly in the bottom of the 1st], fared alright. Only gave up 3 runs ['only'], struck out 4 in 5. The Brewers had some fun with Erick Fedde in the third, with 3 RBIs from Jackson Chourio and Isaac Paredes. Through 6, it was a 3-3 game. I just want to stress that. Through 6...it was 3-3.

Two things happened, simultaneously. Firstly, Erick Fedde locked in. After giving up the runs in the third, Fedde never looked back, never giving up another one. What's more, he started striking the Brewers out like he never did when he was a member of them. Starting in the sixth, Fedde would strike out 7 consecutive batters, adding to his ultimate 13 K total. It was incredible.

What also happened was that the Brewers' bullpen completely fell apart. Taylor Rogers, after getting the win in Game 2, gave up 2 homers in the 7th to Tyler O'Neill and C.J. Abrams. Then Jordan Hicks came on for the 8th and even more went wrong, including a Michael Busch homer, RBIs from Kelly and PCA, and guys that just kept getting on base. It was a 4-run 8th that put any thought of a Brewers win out of the question. 

Game 4: Brewers 9, Nationals 4

This game, for me, was the definition of ending on a high note. Thanks to proper inning rationing, I had my ideal lefty-killing lineup against a solid lefty pitcher, Nick Lodolo. They did everything I needed them to.

Immediately, Heliot Ramos, in the last game of his lefty-killing year with me, hits a solo shot in the 1st. Then Kevin Pillar batted in Xander Bogaerts after he'd tripled. Then in the third, Ramos hit a SECOND homer. And in the fourth, after Conforto and Santana made it on base, Pillar, playing in what would undoubtedly be his final game in the KPSL, made it a true storybook ending by smacking a homer deep. Thanks to Rhys Hoskins taking Ben Lively deep for a 3-run shot an inning earlier, the game was still relatively close. 

The Brewers, however, would score a run every inning until the sixth. Either there'd be some cute RBI thing, like Conforto singling Heliot Ramos home after a rare steal, or something crazy, like a J.P. Crawford 2-run shot off JoJo Romero in the 6th. Lodolo had to leave in the 5th with an injury after the Conforto RBI, and Romero did what he could to lock things down, but he turned a 7-4 game into a 9-4 one. Pillar and Ramos were the heroes here, as they'd been frequently this season. The Brewers' bullpen truly locked in to keep the Nats down, with no earned runs after Lively's exit. That was the cherry on top.

My favorite detail of this game, the last of a long season, was that midway through the game my black pen I'd been using to mark games, and prep for them, the entire season, began to run dry. It lasted the whole season and then died. Luckily I had an identical one to finish the game. That'll be my 2026 pen I reckon. 

And so here we are. I made it through all 88. I have a full season with the KPSL league in the books. Looking at the 37-51 record, I'm pretty proud of myself. Won more than my predecessor, had some great games against great teams, chose fun over frustration. This season had a fraction of the stress I thought it'd bring, and it resulted in a really nice time. 

A fun series with Jeff brings this one to a close, and it was a really cool way to cap things off. I finished 8-8 against Jeff this year, which I see as a crucial achievement considering just how good his team is. That last win was one I'm proud of.