Brewers Hit 154 Homers — Now Their Small-Ball Lineup Leads October
GOATIFYThe Milwaukee Brewers are entering the World Series with a paradox that should worry Tampa Bay. They won 103 regular-season games by making pitchers work, putting the ball in play and taking the extra base. They finished near the bottom of the majors in home runs. Yet after dispatching the Dodgers in four National League Championship Series games, Milwaukee also owns October's most dangerous surprise: a lineup capable of turning a patient, small-ball inning into a sudden home-run barrage.
That is a more revealing description of this club than either “underdog” or “powerhouse.” Pat Murphy's team is neither a miniature version of the star-heavy Dodgers nor a group that simply waits for opponents to make mistakes. It manufactures the circumstances in which mistakes become likely, then has enough hitters to punish the one pitch that finally leaks over the plate. The question before Friday's Game 1 against the Rays is whether that combination travels all the way to the franchise's first championship.
The 103-win foundation was built without chasing home runs
Start with the regular-season numbers. Milwaukee went 103-59, the best record in baseball, despite hitting only 154 home runs. That placed the Brewers 29th in the majors, an unusual profile for a club that scored 832 runs and earned home-field advantage in the World Series. The difference was not a mysterious ability to hit with runners on base. It was the accumulation of baserunners, lengthy plate appearances, speed and pressure across nine lineup spots.
Consider what an opponent has to defend. Brice Turang can turn a walk or single into a scoring chance by running. Jackson Chourio offers genuine extra-base danger without needing to swing for the fences every time. Cooper Pratt and the lower part of the order can force a pitcher to field his position, hold a runner or throw a difficult strike on a full count. A stolen base changes the defense's positioning; a bunt threat pulls an infielder forward; an extended at-bat makes a reliever warm up earlier than planned. None of those actions is worth a highlight-reel homer by itself, but their combined effect is a lineup that is exhausting to navigate.
That distinction matters when people compare this team with Milwaukee's 1982 American League champions. Harvey Kuenn's famous Wallbangers led the majors with 216 homers and featured Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Ted Simmons and a lineup designed to slug its way through a game. They reached the World Series but lost in seven games to St. Louis. Murphy's 2026 Brewers are different in both personnel and intent: their first instinct is to keep an inning alive, not to finish it with one swing.
That does not make power irrelevant. Jake Bauers led this year's club with 26 regular-season homers, Chourio hit 25 and Turang added 21. The important point is that Milwaukee does not need those hitters to behave like pure sluggers to score. A two-strike single, a walk after a seven-pitch battle or a productive groundout can be the play that makes the next big swing possible. The team's contact-first approach is a foundation, not a prohibition on hitting the ball out of the park.
The Dodgers sweep showed how one patient inning can change a series
The clearest example arrived in the National League pennant clincher. Los Angeles had a 4-0 lead in Game 4, helped by a Shohei Ohtani three-run homer. At that point, the Dodgers looked capable of extending the series and forcing Milwaukee to use more of its pitching. Instead, the Brewers turned the middle innings into a sequence of uncomfortable decisions for the defending champions.
William Contreras and Bauers opened the comeback with consecutive doubles in the fourth. Sal Frelick's walk and stolen base helped create another run in the fifth, and David Hamilton supplied an RBI single. Milwaukee kept asking for another strike, another throw to the plate and another defensive execution. Bauers eventually drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. A lineup that might look short on power had found four runs without needing a single homer.
Then came the twist. Garrett Mitchell led off the sixth with a go-ahead home run against Tanner Scott, and Hamilton delivered ninth-inning insurance with a 402-foot shot off Edwin Díaz. Milwaukee won 6-4, completed the sweep and denied Los Angeles a third straight World Series title. Those home runs were decisive, but the earlier pressure had already altered the game: the Dodgers had burned through pitching options and could no longer attack every hitter with a clean slate.
Hamilton's night captures the strategy particularly well. Earlier, he had been asked to bunt, reinforcing his reputation as a speed-and-contact player. He entered the postseason with just four regular-season home runs in 121 games. When a pitcher later offered a hittable slider, Hamilton did not refuse the opportunity because his job description said “small ball.” He drove it out. That flexibility is the point. Milwaukee can show bunt, take a pitch, run or swing hard, and a defense must respect all four possibilities.
It would be misleading to suggest every successful rally is a perfectly designed chain of cause and effect. Opponents also miss spots, and October outcomes can hinge on a single swing. But the Brewers consistently put themselves in positions to benefit from those misses. Their method generates extra opportunities; their power turns some of those opportunities into crooked numbers. Against an elite opponent, that is a more repeatable offensive idea than simply hoping the next batter hits a three-run homer.
October's power surge is a weapon, not a new philosophy
By the eve of the World Series, Milwaukee had hit 10 postseason home runs, the most of any remaining club. That total is striking for a team that finished near the bottom of the regular-season home-run table. It is tempting to announce a dramatic identity change, but the better explanation is that the same patient offense has become unusually efficient at identifying pitches worth attacking.
Jake Bauers' at-bat against Blake Snell in NLCS Game 3 is the perfect illustration. Bauers fouled off pitches, refused to end the contest on the pitcher's terms and finally turned the 11th offering into a go-ahead two-run homer. The patience was not separate from the power; it helped produce the pitch he could drive. Chourio had already homered on the first pitch of that game, and Mitchell later went deep as well. Three very different routes to damage existed within the same lineup.
The pattern appeared earlier in October. Chourio hit a game-tying two-run homer against San Diego, while Contreras delivered a go-ahead blast in that series. Against Los Angeles, Contreras also hit a tying homer and repeatedly found ways to reach base. These contributions were not confined to a single designated slugger. Opposing managers had to consider that the player taking pitches and threatening a steal in one inning might be the player who clears the fence in the next.
There is a useful caution in the numbers. Ten home runs over a handful of playoff games do not establish a new true-talent power level. Milwaukee hit 154 over 162 regular-season games, and the small postseason sample can swing sharply with a few well-struck balls. The Brewers should not assume the power will continue at the same pace, nor should they abandon the contact approach that earned them the league's best record. If their bats go quiet for a night, walks, speed and singles must still create runs.
What has changed is the opponent's margin for error. A pitcher facing the 2026 Brewers cannot safely trade a walk for a chance to face an automatic out at the bottom of the order. Nor can he assume that a contact-oriented hitter will decline a middle-middle fastball. Milwaukee's hitters do not need to sell out for power to possess it. The postseason has simply made the second half of that equation impossible to ignore.
The Rays can match the speed — so the World Series becomes an execution test
The World Series opponent is unusually well equipped to understand Milwaukee's approach. Tampa Bay finished 98-64, posted a .258 team batting average and led the American League with 164 stolen bases. The Brewers stole 162. Both clubs can move runners without waiting for the long ball, and both have built deep rosters that reward disciplined decisions rather than celebrity billing.
That similarity creates a fascinating tactical battle. The Rays struck out only 1,145 times during the regular season, the fewest in the majors. Their contact ability should make it harder for Milwaukee's pitching staff to rely on strikeouts whenever a runner reaches second. On the other side, Tampa Bay must avoid giving the Brewers extra outs through walks, slow defensive reactions or rushed throws. A small mistake against either team can turn a quiet inning into a two-run problem.
Game 1 will also offer a sharp contrast in starting-pitcher profiles. Milwaukee is scheduled to use Jacob Misiorowski, whose triple-digit fastball powered a 1.80 regular-season ERA and 252 strikeouts. Tampa Bay has chosen Nick Martinez, who posted a 3.10 ERA over 180 innings while leaning on command and keeping walks down. Those are different ways to control a game. The Brewers will want to lengthen Martinez's plate appearances without getting so passive that they miss hittable strikes. The Rays will want to foul off Misiorowski's heat and push him toward an early exit.
Neither team can count on its starter going eight innings. Milwaukee's recent October success has depended on its bullpen protecting narrow advantages, while Tampa Bay has deliberately arranged its rotation with later games in mind. That makes the sixth through eighth innings especially important. Pinch-running, the timing of a sacrifice attempt and the choice of which hitter gets a high-leverage plate appearance could decide games that have very few balls leaving the yard.
Milwaukee also needs to resist the emotional pull of the moment. It is hosting its first World Series since 1982 and chasing a first championship; the temptation to make every swing historic will be enormous. The more reliable path is the one the club followed through 103 wins: get on base, move the line, force the next decision and attack the pitch that deserves it. Tampa Bay will try to do much the same. The champion may be the team that stays disciplined longest while still recognizing when the moment calls for a decisive swing.
Milwaukee's October power has not changed its identity. The Brewers remain most dangerous when they work counts, reach base, run intelligently and keep the inning moving. Home runs become a reward for sustained pressure, not the only path to scoring.
The 1982 Wallbangers tried to slug their way to a title. The 2026 Brewers use every tool, including power when a pitch deserves it. Against a Rays club with similar speed and contact instincts, the distinction between small ball and big swings may prove meaningless. The champion may simply be the team that creates more chances — and converts them.
