Brewers Facing Decision After Trevor Megill Announcement

Over Chicago’s wins in Games 3 and 4, the first inning proved to be the most impactful. The Cubs scored seven total runs in the first inning of those two games, putting the Brewers in early deficits they could not overcome.

In response, Milwaukee announced that Trevor Megill, the team’s All-Star closing pitcher, will serve as the opener for Game 5. “The All-Star starts us off #MagicBrew,” the team wrote on X. Megill has not opened a game for the Brewers since 2023.

Megill remains one of the freshest arms in the bullpen, as he has logged just one inning in the series. He also remains one of Milwaukee’s best arms as he owned a 2.49 ERA in the regular season. However, Megill likely will only pitch one inning, with two being a likely limit for the closer. Not only has Megill primarily operated as a relief pitcher, he is still coming off of a right elbow flexor strain that sidelined him for a month.

After Megill, the Brewers will be faced with a decision on who will handle the rest of the game. Murphy may elect to go with Jose Quintana out of the bullpen to log quality relief as he tossed three scoreless innings against Chicago on Wednesday.

Quinn Priester remains an option, yet the Cubs torched him for four runs during his start in Game 3 after he was not able to escape the first inning, getting just two outs. Jacob Misiorowski remains an option as well. The rookie flamethrower has not pitched since Monday and he dominated Chicago, rising to the occasion.

With the season is on the line, Murphy might have to use all available arms, which could lead to another tough decision if Milwaukee advances to face the Dodgers in the NLCS, with Game 1 scheduled for Monday.