For the 2025 version of the Milwaukee Brewers, Saturday marks where the rubber meets the road.
After breezing through the first two games of the best-of-5 NLDS at home, the Brewers were unable to secure a series-clinching win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. This failure to finish off their rivals has set up arguably the most pivotal game for Milwaukee since Game 7 of the 1982 World Series.
The difference this year is that the Brewers get to play this year’s ultimate showdown at home, which is something Harvey’s Wallbangers did not encounter 43 years ago. They earned that right by earning the top seed in the National League.
For their franchise-best and MLB-leading 97 wins to matter, however, Saturday’s Game 5 takes on a completely new and climactic element, one that could make or break the True Blue Brew Crew and their fans for seasons to come.
Since their inception in 1970, the Brewers have always enjoyed the backing of loyal baseball fans in Wisconsin. Cheeseheads waited patiently for their team to prosper, and in 1978, they were rewarded with Milwaukee’s first winning season with a record of 93-69.
That momentum carried over into the next decade, first with the Brewers’ first playoff appearance in 1981, and then their memorable run to the 1982 World Series. After leading the clinching game 3-1 in the sixth inning, the St. Louis Cardinals broke the Brewers’ hearts and stormed back for a 5-3 win.
While that fateful misery stung all involved with the Brewers, both players and fans felt that the pain would be the impetus to take the next championship step.
That has yet to happen.
Recent success has teased loyal Milwaukee fans; the Brewers reached the NLCS in 2011 and 2018, but they have not returned to the Fall Classic with their recent run of playoff appearances. To say enthusiasts of the team are starved for a championship banner to fly at American Family Field is a vast understatement; they are downright famished.
Simply evoking the names of Yasiel Puig, Freddie Freeman, and Pete Alonso into a conversation may cause Brewers fans to break out in hives as they remember those who put a dagger into their past postseason hopes and dreams.
That can all change on Saturday. Brewers’ backers who have stuck with their team through all of the lean times have a chance to finally feel vindication that their team is a real threat to do the unthinkable: win a world championship. Not only that, it would come at the expense of their nemesis to the south, the other faction of the I-94 rivalry.
Hopes were high when Pat Murphy announced that his ace, Freddy Peralta, would start Game 4 to clinch the series and move on to the NLCS. It took less than one inning to realize that Fastball Freddy was not in the groove, as Ian Happ crushed a three-run homer to give the Cubs all the runs they would need to win and force a Game 5.
While this year marks the first time in the rivalry that the two teams face off in the postseason, one thing is for certain: there is no lack of drama.
Just as football fans in Wisconsin and Illinois have enjoyed the struggle between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears, the baseball version of the border war has now reached new heights with this instant classic of a series.
Add to that competition the defection of Craig Counsell, the winningest manager in Brewers history, to take over the helm of the Evil Empire in 2024. Counsell, who was born and raised in the Milwaukee area, bolted south for 40 million reasons, and he left fans of the blue and gold spewing with hatred that their native son would commit such a treasonous act.
Counsell has been enthusiastically booed in Milwaukee every time he has graced the visitor’s dugout, and he will undoubtedly receive the same treatment on Saturday.
Who will go down in Brewers history based on what transpires Saturday? That will ultimately depend on how Murphy fills out his lineup card, and he is not without viable options for success.
The biggest decision he faces is how he will dictate his pitching rotation. Does he bring back Quinn Priester despite his rocky start in Game 3? Is Jose Quintana, who has much playoff experience, rested from his three innings on Wednesday? Where does Jacob Misiorowski fit into his plans?
Regardless of who mans the bump in Game 5, fans across Wisconsin have been waiting decades for their team to finally bear the fruits of their undying loyalty to the Brew Crew. Saturday’s game against their archrival must go a long way to soothe their scars of past disappointments.
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