MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers allowed themselves to celebrate Friday night.
There was a toast. There were congratulations. There was an acknowledgment of just how difficult it is to reach October, even for an organization that has now done so eight times in nine seasons.
Then manager Pat Murphy delivered the message.
âÂÂYou [can] check that box. Now, [onto the] next.âÂÂ
Twenty-four hours later, the Brewers played like a team that had already turned the page.
One night after overwhelming the Reds, 20-0, to clinch a postseason berth, MilwaukeeâÂÂs offense erupted again Saturday in a 13-9 victory at American Family Field. The Brewers have scored 33 runs in their last two games, the most in any two-game span in franchise history, surpassing the previous mark of 32 set in July 1990.
If Friday was about checking the first box, Saturday offered a glimpse of how the Brewers intend to chase the rest.
âÂÂI think weâÂÂre right where we need to be right now,â said Garrett Mitchell, who went 4-for-5 with a two-run home run on Saturday night.
That might be the more meaningful takeaway than the 33 runs.
The Brewers improved to 93-56 -- a franchise-best 37 games above .500 -- and secured their 11th consecutive home series victory in front of 41,667 fans. But with a postseason berth officially secured, MilwaukeeâÂÂs focus has shifted toward arriving in October playing its best baseball.
Lately, its offense certainly looks the part.
âÂÂI think itâÂÂs that time of year,â Murphy said. âÂÂTheyâÂÂre starting to lock it in. They understand how important every pitch is, how important every at-bat is.âÂÂ
The production has come from everywhere.
Brice Turang opened SaturdayâÂÂs scoring with his career-best 19th homer. Mitchell went deep for the second consecutive night as part of a four-hit performance. Cooper Pratt collected three hits. And when Cincinnati erased an early four-run deficit and tied the game in the fourth, William Contreras immediately answered with perhaps the nightâÂÂs most telling swing.
âÂÂThey tied it 5-5 after being down 4-0,â Murphy said. âÂÂFor William to come back and face that kid -- the time before, he made an out on three sliders, three straight sliders -- and then got that opening slider and hammer it, it was a great piece of hitting.âÂÂ
The Brewers added five more runs in the fifth, but the significance stretched beyond another crooked number.
Murphy has spent recent days pushing back against concern about MilwaukeeâÂÂs lack of home run production, maintaining that the quality of the at-bats mattered more. Suddenly, the power has followed. The Brewers hit three homers Saturday after scoring 20 runs the night before, an offensive surge Murphy believes reflects a lineup becoming increasingly disciplined as the stakes rise.
âÂÂWhen you start locking it in, youâÂÂre swinging at strikes and taking balls, and youâÂÂre swinging at strikes with confidence,â Murphy said. âÂÂYouâÂÂre seeing the ball great.âÂÂ
Mitchell described it another way: infectious.
âÂÂI think conviction is a real thing,â Mitchell said. âÂÂI think when everyoneâÂÂs pulling kind of the same weight and just not really worried about anything besides what weâÂÂve got to do as a team, I think it can be super infectious.âÂÂ
Mitchell has become one of the clearest examples. His four-hit night continued an impressive stretch in what has already been a significant season personally. After injuries repeatedly interrupted his first several years in the Majors, Mitchell entered this season with a different sort of goal. He wanted to be available for 140 games.
With 133 games on the books this season, every game Mitchell plays establishes a new career high.
âÂÂIâÂÂve never doubted my ability to play the game,â Mitchell said. âÂÂBut something that I felt like I needed to prove again was to be healthy and be out there.âÂÂ
His manager has noticed more than the availability.
âÂÂIâÂÂve watched this kid the whole season. HeâÂÂs amazed me,â Murphy said. âÂÂJust getting better in every aspect. He handles offspeed pitches. He has great strike-zone discipline, and he has great power in there.âÂÂ
There are still things to clean up. Shane Drohan surrendered five runs over 3 2/3 innings, and what once looked like another runaway became uncomfortable enough late that Milwaukee needed to use more of its bullpen than planned.
But that almost reinforces why nobody inside the Brewersâ clubhouse viewed FridayâÂÂs clinch as a finish line.
There are 13 regular-season games remaining. Nine of them will come on the road after Sunday. The Brewers are still chasing another NL Central title, postseason positioning and potentially home-field advantage throughout October.
And Murphy knows the pitching will only get tougher from here.
âÂÂWeâÂÂre going to see some great pitchers along the way,â Murphy said.
For two nights, it hasnâÂÂt seemed to matter much who has been standing 60 feet, 6 inches away. Thirty-three runs. A franchise record. A postseason berth secured.
And, if the Brewers have their way, only the first box is checked.

