Reporting by Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
PHILADELPHIA – One-hundred wins.
Did you ever think you would see the day that number could be associated with a season from the Milwaukee Brewers?
Well, it’s here.
The 2026 campaign for the Brewers added its latest memorable achievement to a growing collection of them with a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 24 at Citizens Bank Park to become the first MLB team hit the century mark for victories since 2023.
The number, which had never before been reached in franchise history, was done in remarkably consistent fashion, too. The Brewers’ longest winning streak this year is five, which they’ve done on three separate occasions; no team has ever won 100 games in a year without a win streak of at least six.
As this memorable regular season wraps up, let’s look back at the 10 most exciting games along the journey.
Christian Yelich’s pinch-hit homer
The Brewers trailed the White Sox, 7-3, entering the bottom of the eighth on March 29, the first Sunday of the season. Brice Turang roped an RBI single to open the scoring in the inning and Luis Rengifo (remember him) poked a two-run hit up the middle. That brought Yelich to the plate to loud roars from the crowd. He unloaded on a 2-2 splitter and cranked it to the right-field bleachers for a no-doubt, three-run blast. It was – somehow, some way – Yelich’s first career pinch-hit homer and gave the Brewers a season-opening sweep that set the tone for the win.
Quote from the coverage: Can the moment of the regular season be made before the calendar even turns to April? Because, if so, Christian Yelich may have just done it.
Miz electrifies against the Yankees
Jacob Misiorowski opened his 11-strikeout gem in his first career start against the Yankees with arguably the most electric inning ever. Misiorowski came within an eyelash of an immaculate inning, throwing 10 pitches all at 102 mph or faster as he struck out two. Misiorowski topped it off with a 103.6 mph heater to Aaron Judge, which at the time was the fastest pitch ever tracked by a starter.
Misiorowski, of course, would break that record multiple times as the year went on.
Quote from the coverage: It was only fitting that on the day CC Sabathia was inducted into the Milwaukee Brewers’ Wall of Honor, Jacob Misiorowski turned in one of the best starts of his young career.
Brice Turang delivers sweep of the Yankees
The Brewers weren’t always a juggernaut this year. On May 4,they sat at 18-16, but followed it by rattling off five straight wins, three of which came against the Yankees. Brice Turang provided the second straight day with a walk-off by blasting a solo shot to center to break the tie in the ninth against David Bednar on May 10.
Earlier in the game, Blake Perkins had given the Brewers the lead with a single up the middle in his first Mother’s Day game without his mother, Carisa.
It was the Brewers first sweep of the Yankees in a series of at least three games since 1989.
Quote from the coverage: “It starts with my faith in Jesus and then it goes to my wife, my family and these guys here keeping me grounded,” Perkins said. “Obviously, Murph’s a big help too because baseball’s a tough game mentally with the ups and downs. Just trying to take it a day at a time and ask for help if I need it. “I’m not doing this all alone, I can tell you that.”
Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill slam the door on Houston
A candidate for the most underrated win of the year came May 29 at Daikin Park in Houston.
Coleman Crow wasn’t great in a four-inning start but a Jackson Chourio homer and some small ball late drew Milwaukee even.
The Astros had a walk-off win brewing in the ninth when a leadoff error helped load the bases with one out against Abner Uribe, who was pitching the day he appealed a one-game suspension for his crotch-chopping theatrics against the Cardinals. Uribe escaped with a strikeout and pop up, then a pair of fly balls put the Brewers in front in the top of the 10th.
A one run lead seemed like it wouldn’t be enough with the heart of the Astros order due up, but Trevor Megill undressed likely American League MVP Yordan Alvarez on three pitches, got Christian Walker to fly out and struck out Cam Smith to strand the tying run on third for a gutsy early-year win on May 29.
Quote from the coverage: The arm and gumption of Abner Uribe pushed the Milwaukee Brewers into extra innings.
Victory followed thanks to the legs of Christian Yelich.
Chaos in Las Vegas
It was the wildest game of the year.
Playing at altitude and in a minor-league stadium where the ball flew in Las Vegas, the Brewers pulled out a 15-14 win over the Athletics in 12 innings.
First, Kyle Harrison gave up eight runs in 2 ⅓ innings, then the Brewers rallied from down four in the seventh and down two in the ninth to send it to extras. William Contreras’ majestic, falling-down homer made it 14-10 in the 10th, which figured to be enough to finally end the marathon contest.
It wasn’t. Jonah Heim memorably hit a game-tying homer on a pop-up to right against Aaron Ashby. The Brewers didn’t score in the 11th but Abner Uribe was somehow able to keep the A’s off the board in response, then Chad Patrick did the same for a save in the 12th after Christian Yelich scored on a fielder’s choice.
The game took four hours and 14 minutes, saw 11 homers hit and ended at 1:09 a.m. Central Time.
Quote from the coverage: The first regular-season matchup of major league teams in Las Vegas in 30 years on Monday night, June 8 was suitably bonkers.
Miz strikes out 15 Phillies in a Maddux
It was simply one of the greatest games ever pitched.
Jacob Misiorowski struck out 15 batters, allowed one base runner and faced the minimum in a 97-pitch shutout of the Phillies on June 12.
Misiorowski’s 15 strikeouts were the most ever recorded in a “Maddux,” the term for a shutout on fewer than 100 pitches. He threw only 21 balls all game and didn’t have a single three-ball count.
Had it not been for a Kyle Schwarber blooper to lead off the fourth, Misiorowski would have retired all 27 hitters he faced.
Quote from the coverage: Kyle Schwarber’s liner to the striped grass in center took away Jacob Misiorowski’s chances at earning the title officially for his outing, but don’t let the one base runner the Philadelphia Phillies put on the base paths fool you.
In front of a sellout crowd June 12 at American Family Field, Jacob Misiorowski was perfect.
What other moniker, what other descriptor can you give to properly capture what the Milwaukee Brewers flamethrower did for his latest and greatest outing.
A much-needed comeback in LA
The Brewers encountered truly one of their only rough patches over the final five months of the year when they were swept in San Diego in mid-August. The task only got harder after that with a four-game series at Dodger Stadium awaiting.
Trailing by two entering the ninth, a fourth straight loss seemed likely. Instead, the Brewers picked themselves off the mat with four straight one-out singles to draw even. With two outs, Jake Bauers poked a seeing-eye grounder through the right side for the lead, and Trevor Megill locked it down for a 5-4 win on Aug. 13.
Milwaukee would win three of four in the series to get back on track and never deviate the rest of the way.
Quote from the coverage: Twenty-eight hours and about one bus ride up the West Coast ago, Jake Bauers stood in front of his locker at Petco Park and said the Milwaukee Brewers offense needed to chill the you-know-what out.
The following night at Dodger Stadium, with their backs firmly against the wall, they took a collective deep breath and, with Bauers at the helm, did just that.
Miz vs. Sale lives up to the hype
The best pure game all year? It was arguably Aug. 21 between the Braves and Brewers – but, more specifically, Jacob Misiorowski and Chris Sale.
Two of the best pitchers in the game went toe-to-toe as the Brewers snuck away with a 2-1 win in a well-pitched, well-played game full of drama. An infield single and ground out got Milwaukee on the board in the third while Misiorowski held Atlanta off the board in six innings of work. Antonio Senzatela bent but didn’t break in the eighth, stranding the bases loaded after allowing a run, and Trevor Megill struck out Ronald Acuna Jr. with the tying run on second for the final out of the ninth.
Quote from the coverage: “We’re trying to get him to understand you don’t have to feel great to perform great,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Misiorowski. “And I think he’s getting that.”
The outfielders save the day
A Labor Day matinee against the Cubs was bound to be memorable.
After being bullied by Matthew Boyd all day, the Brewers finally got into the Cubs shaky bullpen in the eighth and made good on the opportunity. Jackson Chourio gave Milwaukee the lead with a two-run knock with the bases loaded, then an inning later made a diving catch to preserve the 4-3 win Sept. 7.
That wasn’t even the best catch of the inning, though. That honor belonged to Luis Lara, whose latest highlight-reel grab came to rob extra bases (and potentially more) from Pedro Ramirez in the top of the ninth.
Quote from the coverage: “Sometimes I feel like I was born for those moments,” said Chourio afterward. “I like the pressure that those moments bring. I don’t know why, but I know that I enjoy them.”
Chourio does it again against Cubs
Chourio and the Brewers followed up the Labor Day drama with pure cinema the next day, Sept. 8.
The crowd was buzzing from the jump with Jacob Misiorowski on the mound, and he went 6 ⅓ innings but departed with a 1-1 tie. Chicago sent the heavy contingent from the visiting side into a frenzy with a two-run double by Carson Kelly to claim a 3-1 lead against Trevor Megill in the ninth.
Chourio had the final say, though, roping a game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth a pitch after breaking his bat.
In the 10th, Garrett Mitchell threw out a runner at third to help deliver a scoreless inning, then Luis Lara atoned for a bad night at the plate with a walk-off single.
Quote from the coverage: Game of the year? It may very well have been.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The 10 most exciting games from the Brewers’ 100-win season
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