Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy may have cost his team a chance to clinch the World Series
The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Milwaukee Brewers in extra innings in Game 4 of the World Series, after the Brewers had moved within three outs of winning their first championship. The article argues that manager Pat Murphy’s decision to use little-used reliever Shane Drohan instead of ace Jacob Misiorowski may have contributed to the loss and cost Milwaukee a chance to clinch.
Milwaukee led 3-0 in the series and had won eight consecutive playoff games before Tuesday’s defeat. In the bottom of the 12th, Tampa Bay scored twice after an error, a series of singles and a bouncing ground ball; Misiorowski had been scheduled to start Game 5. Murphy said he did not want to use the likely National League Cy Young Award winner in a one-run extra-inning game with a series lead, but said the Brewers would now have “all hands on deck”.
In short
- Tampa Bay rallied to win Game 4 in the 12th inning.
- Milwaukee was three outs from its first World Series title.
- Pat Murphy chose Shane Drohan over Jacob Misiorowski.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Murphy could reasonably have prioritised the larger series picture: Milwaukee led 3-0, and Misiorowski was scheduled to start Game 5, so using him in a one-run extra-inning situation might have weakened the team’s plan for the next game. Managers also have to weigh a pitcher’s readiness and role, and the loss followed an error and several difficult plays rather than one decision alone.
The case against
With the Brewers three outs from their first championship, the immediate chance to clinch was exceptionally valuable, and deploying a little-used reliever instead of the ace may have left the team with less margin for error. Even if preserving Misiorowski offered a better plan for Game 5, that opportunity depended on winning Game 4; using the strongest available arm could therefore be seen as the better response to the decisive moment.
Explained simply
The World Series is Major League Baseball’s championship, played between the winners of its two leagues. A team must win four games to take the title, so a 3–0 lead puts it one win from becoming champion.
The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays are the two teams in this series. Pat Murphy manages Milwaukee, while Jacob Misiorowski is one of its leading pitchers; managers decide which pitchers to use and when, often balancing the need to win now against plans for later games.
Milwaukee has never won the World Series, so a title would be a first for the club. The choice of relief pitcher has drawn attention because it raises questions about how managers weigh a game’s immediate stakes against saving a key player for a possible later start.