Brewers Win Our Way: How Pat Murphy’s Gamers Beat the Dodgers
Four games. Four comebacks. One pennant. From Jake Bauers’ unforgettable pitch-count battles to Pat Murphy’s clubhouse declaration, Milwaukee’s 2026 National League championship was a triumph of patience, trust and team identity.
The Milwaukee Brewers did not need to look like the Los Angeles Dodgers to beat them. On October 15, 2026, Milwaukee completed a four-game National League Championship Series sweep and reached the World Series for the first time in 44 years. They did it with a 6–4 comeback at Dodger Stadium, four consecutive victories after trailing in every game, and a philosophy that had become the team’s identity: win our way.
The contrast was irresistible. Los Angeles featured established superstars and ambitions of winning a third straight championship. Milwaukee arrived with a 103-win regular season, a deep roster, persistent at-bats and a manager who trusted contributions from everywhere. The Brewers had been swept by this same opponent in the previous year’s NLCS. Now they had turned that memory into fuel.
And once the pennant was theirs, manager Pat Murphy delivered the phrase that gave an entire playoff series a new caption.
“They may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we’ve got a bunch of gamers.”
Pat Murphy · Following the 2026 NLCS victory · MLB.comWhat Does “Win Our Way” Actually Mean for the Brewers?
Milwaukee built its success around offense rather than simply home-run hunting. That meant extending plate appearances, refusing tempting pitches, moving runners, defending reliably and using the bullpen creatively. It was a style that made opposing pitchers work and allowed different players to decide different games.
Jacob Misiorowski, William Contreras and Brice Turang illustrate that balance. Misiorowski represents the high-energy pitching talent that can change a game’s tempo. Contreras provides the catching presence and competitive offensive contribution. Turang brings athleticism, defense and the ability to create pressure throughout the lineup.
Each contributes something different, and that is the point. The phrase “Win Our Way” belongs to a team whose winning identity cannot be reduced to one player or one kind of highlight.
How Jake Bauers Turned 23 Pitches Into a Postseason Identity
Nobody embodied the approach more dramatically than Jake Bauers. In Game 2, against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Bauers fought through a twelve-pitch plate appearance that lasted more than seven minutes. Six consecutive two-strike foul balls kept the confrontation alive. His eventual walk loaded the bases, setting up Christian Yelich’s go-ahead two-run single in Milwaukee’s 7–4 victory.
Game 3 delivered the sequel. Facing Blake Snell in the seventh inning, Bauers battled through ten pitches before driving the eleventh 412 feet for a go-ahead two-run home run. Garrett Mitchell immediately followed with another homer. Milwaukee won 6–2 and moved within one victory of the pennant.
Game 2 · The Walk
Against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Seven-minute battle, six consecutive two-strike fouls, bases loaded and the rally extended.
Game 3 · The Home Run
Against Blake Snell. A two-run, go-ahead homer on pitch eleven, sending the ball a projected 412 feet.
Bauers’ story had another layer. Earlier in his career, he had considered leaving baseball altogether. By October 2026, he was becoming the most vivid example of Milwaukee’s collective stubbornness. He finished the series as NLCS MVP, with six RBIs, including a two-run double and game-tying bases-loaded walk in Game 4.
Four Designs That Explain Milwaukee’s Winning Philosophy
These four graphics approach the same postseason through different perspectives. Together they read like pages from a scouting report: the players, the process, the mentality and the manager’s words. Their visual language emphasizes why Milwaukee won rather than merely recording the final result.
Misiorowski, Contreras and Turang layered across oversized gold lettering, each representing a different dimension of the team.
View the graphic →
A pitch-chart-inspired tribute to two exhausting confrontations and the patience that changed the NLCS.
Examine the artwork →
A single defiant word frames Milwaukee’s refusal to collapse under the pressure of postseason baseball.
Explore the design →
A manager’s unforgettable postgame line becomes the shorthand for Milwaukee’s victory over a superstar roster.
See the quote graphic →Why Pat Murphy’s “Gamers” Quote Resonated With Fans
Murphy’s line worked because the contrast was immediately understandable. The Dodgers were not merely another opponent; they were the team that had ended Milwaukee’s previous postseason. Beating them four straight times transformed the Brewers’ underdog identity into something tangible.
The quote also carried the manager’s personality. In the victorious clubhouse, Murphy was surrounded by players celebrating a pennant that had taken the franchise decades to reclaim. His words sounded neither polished nor corporate. They sounded like a manager describing exactly what he valued in his team.
On Reddit, the speech quickly became a discussion in its own right. Supporters repeated the contrast between Hall of Famers and gamers, praised Murphy’s leadership and connected the line to the Brewers’ relationship with their manager.
Pat Murphy’s “Hall of Famers / Gamers” quote — original Reddit discussion
Also see the Brewers community’s discussion of the clubhouse speech →
Why “Undaunted” May Be the Best Word for This Team
Milwaukee trailed in every game of the NLCS. In Game 4, Shohei Ohtani’s three-run homer helped Los Angeles establish a 4–0 lead by the second inning. That is normally the kind of early blow that can quiet a visiting team facing elimination pressure in a hostile ballpark.
The Brewers responded with six unanswered runs. Bauers helped drive the comeback, Garrett Mitchell supplied the go-ahead homer, and Aaron Ashby recorded the final nine outs. The 6–4 result completed the sweep and reversed the story of 2025.
The word “Undaunted” is therefore a fitting cultural interpretation, not a claim that it was an official clubhouse slogan. It captures a team repeatedly placed in uncomfortable situations and repeatedly finding a way forward.
The distinction matters: Milwaukee won the 2026 National League pennant and earned its World Series berth. As of October 16, the Brewers had not yet won the World Series. Their next challenge begins October 23.
What Comes Next for Milwaukee?
The Brewers last appeared in the World Series in 1982, when the franchise competed in the American League. This season brought Milwaukee its first National League pennant. Now the club has an opportunity to secure its first World Series championship.
In the meantime, the team’s evolving postseason identity is visible across the Milwaukee Brewers collection and the wider MLB archive. Readers following the players and manager can explore related graphics for Jake Bauers, Pat Murphy, Jacob Misiorowski, William Contreras and Brice Turang.
The remarkable thing about this pennant is how many people contributed to its identity. A catcher’s double, a patient walk, a pitcher’s relief appearance, a go-ahead homer and a manager’s words all became parts of the same Milwaukee story.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Win Our Way mean for the Milwaukee Brewers?
Win Our Way describes Milwaukee’s team-first baseball approach: patient at-bats, aggressive baserunning, strong defense, pitching depth and contributions throughout the roster during its 2026 postseason run.
Who are the three Brewers players on the Win Our Way design?
Jacob Misiorowski, William Contreras and Brice Turang. They represent pitching, catching and Milwaukee’s versatile team-oriented style.
What did Jake Bauers do against Yamamoto and Snell?
Bauers earned a 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in NLCS Game 2, then hit a go-ahead two-run homer on the 11th pitch against Blake Snell in Game 3.
What did Pat Murphy say after the Brewers swept the Dodgers?
Murphy contrasted the Dodgers’ Hall of Fame-caliber talent with Milwaukee’s gamers, adding that the gamers won the week. His comment became a memorable expression of the Brewers’ identity.
Who won the 2026 NLCS MVP?
Jake Bauers won NLCS MVP after delivering six RBIs, extended plate appearances and key hits as Milwaukee swept Los Angeles 4–0.
What does the Undaunted Brewers design represent?
It represents Milwaukee’s persistence through difficult postseason situations, especially the four comeback victories against the Dodgers and the team’s return to the World Series.
The Win Our Way trio, Work the Count pitch chart, Undaunted graphic and Pat Murphy quote design preserve four sides of the same baseball story: talent working together, patience under pressure, fearlessness and belief.
The Milwaukee Brewers’ Win Our Way identity defined their 2026 NLCS sweep of the Dodgers. From Jake Bauers’ marathon plate appearances to Pat Murphy’s gamers declaration, four baseball graphics capture the patience, teamwork and conviction behind Milwaukee’s World Series return.