The most frustrating and depressing games of the year
It’s said that you can’t enjoy the best moments of life without experiencing the other side. That’s true in baseball as well. Well, that’s at least what we want to tell ourselves. Here are the games that went so badly for the Brewers this season that they made us appreciate the best games that much more.
5) April 27 – New York Yankees 15 @ Milwaukee Brewers 3
This is a simple one to start. In the 2024 season, the most runs that the pitching staff allowed in a game was 15. That happened twice last season. Both times came against the Yankees, and in back-to-back games. This game was the first of those two, and it was the game where the Brewers never had a chance. This was also the Brewers’ largest margin of defeat last season.
It took the Yankees just four batters to take the lead for the entire game. Alex Verdugo hit a three-run home run off of starter Joe Ross to put the Yankees ahead 3-0 in the top of the first. While the Brewers would get one back in the bottom of the first on a Rhys Hoskins solo home run, that was as close as the Brewers got for the rest of the game. The Yankees win expectancy never fell below 66%, and it was 90% or higher after Gleyber Torres hit the Yankees’ second three-run home run in the top of the third.
Ross would take the loss as he worked through five innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) in the loss. The Brewers would at least not have to use much in their bullpen. Thyago Vieira took an inning and allowed four runs. Janson Junk was the only pitcher to get through an inning without allowing a run. Owen Miller got to pitch as a position player and allowed another four runs as he took the last two innings.
Back-to-back doubles in the ninth from Gary Sánchez and Joey Ortiz made the score look a little better. However, it was not much more than a little padding as the game came to an end.
4) July 11 – Pittsburgh Pirates 1 @ Milwaukee Brewers 0
Over the years, the Brewers have faced their share of annoying players on rival teams. One pitcher that joined the ranks of those players last season is Paul Skenes. He entered the league in May, but the Brewers didn’t get to face him for the first time until July. At that point, Skenes already had a performance where he pitched six no-hit innings. On this day, he would top that.
Skenes pitched seven innings on this day, and he was unhittable — over seven innings, he did not allow a single hit. He allowed just two baserunners in total. Both came in the second inning, when he hit Jake Bauers with a pitch and then walked Garrett Mitchell. That was it for him. He retired the last 16 batters that he faced.
Almost overlooked in that game was the Brewers’ starting pitcher, Aaron Civale. As Skenes was stymying the Brewers, Civale did everything he could to keep the Brewers in the game. This was just his second start for the Brewers, and he pitched extremely well. He went 6 1⁄3 innings, allowing just one run on six hits and two walks. Bryan Hudson and Elvis Peguero each added on scoreless appearances to limit the Pirates to one run of offense.
Everyone wondered if Skenes would continue to pitch beyond the seventh, but he was pulled at 99 pitches. Colin Holderman entered the game, and the Brewers took advantage immediately. Their two hits of the game came right after that on back-to-back singles, again from Bauers and Mitchell. The Brewers would get a bases-loaded opportunity after Brice Turang drew a two-out walk, but William Contreras struck out to end the threat. They would go down in order in the ninth to end the game.
3) May 20 – Milwaukee Brewers 2 @ Miami Marlins 3
In the course of a season, this game didn’t impact much. The Brewers were still building their division lead, which was at just 1.5 games at this point. It was played in front of the second-smallest crowd the Brewers would see all season. However, it would be one of the more demoralizing losses of the season.
Though Ross started this game, he would essentially be an opener as he came out after one inning. He would go on the injured list after this game with a back injury. This ended up being a bullpen game, and it was going well as the Brewers only allowed one run through 8 2⁄3 innings.
With just one out to go, the Brewers had a 2-1 lead after Trevor Megill got two outs on three pitches to start the ninth. The Brewers’ win probability was at 95%. However, Nick Gordon hit a two-out single, stole second, and then scored on an Otto Lopez single. Megill got out of the inning, but the game went to extras.
In the 10th, the Brewers tried to manufacture a run with a walk and sacrifice bunt. However, runners were left on second and third as the inning ended. Mitch White entered the game to try to get it to the 11th inning. He got a foul bunt pop up to start the inning, but that moved runner Vidal Bruján to third. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was intentionally walked to set up a double play, but he stole second and erased that. White intentionally walked Bryan De La Cruz to again set up the force out but also loaded the bases. Josh Bell ended the game with a ground ball single right between first and second base, and the game ended as the Marlins walked it off.
2) September 15 – Milwaukee Brewers 10 @ Arizona Diamondbacks 11
Even though the Brewers had an 11-game division lead entering this game, there was still some tension entering this series. The Diamondbacks were a potential postseason opponent for the Brewers, and the 2023 NL Wild Card Series was still heavy on many fans’ minds. This game ended up being one of the hardest-fought games of the season on both sides, but it wouldn’t go in the Brewers’ favor.
Early on, the Diamondbacks made this look like a potential blowout. DL Hall made the start and only lasted three innings, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks. After the top of the fourth inning, the Diamondbacks had a 94.7% chance to win.
However, the Brewers did not give up. They scored eight runs over the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to take an 8-5 lead. Jackson Chourio hit a three-run home run, Eric Haase tied the game with a two-run home run, and Willy Adames put the Brewers ahead with a two-run double. This boosted the Brewers from a 5.3% chance to win to an 88.8% chance to win.
The Diamondbacks also did not give up. They bounced back as well, scoring two runs in the seventh and a run in the eighth to tie the game. After both teams went through a scoreless ninth inning, the game went to extra innings. What followed was a series of events that left fans scratching their heads.
The 10th inning started with Ortiz as a ghost runner, but he remained on second after two flyouts. With Turang at the plate, the Diamondbacks intentionally walked him to face Chourio. As hot as Chourio was, the decision didn’t make sense, and Chourio made the Diamondbacks pay with a two-run triple. The Brewers had a 10-8 lead and a 79.8% chance to win.
However, as the bottom of the inning started, Brewers’ fans were now completely confused as Jared Koenig, who had just pitched the ninth, remained in the game. Devin Williams had been warming up a couple of times and appeared to be ready to enter the game, but Pat Murphy didn’t make the change. What followed was a bottom of the 10th where Koenig couldn’t record a single out. The first batter he faced, Adrian Del Castillo, singled to make it a 10-9 game. Two more singles loaded the bases. Koenig then hit Christian Walker to tie the game, and Eugenio Suarez followed that with a single to walk it off for the Diamondbacks.
1) October 3 – New York Mets 4 @ Milwaukee Brewers 2
It would be very difficult to pick any other game as the worst of the season other than this one. It wasn’t just the fact that it ended the Brewers’ season. It was how it ended the season.
For the first eight innings, this game looked like it could go down as a classic in Milwaukee Brewers history. Tobias Myers made the game three start and held the Mets to two hits in five scoreless innings. Jose Quintana mostly matched Myers, pitching six shutout innings and allowing four hits and a walk. The game was turned over to the bullpen, and the Brewers dominant’ bullpen showed up. Trevor Megill needed just seven pitches for a scoreless sixth inning. Nick Mears was an unconventional seventh inning pick, but it worked out beautifully as he sat down the Mets in order with two strikeouts.
The game then reached the bottom of the seventh. José Buttó came into the game needing to cover some outs before the Mets could go to Edwin Díaz. It didn’t work out for them. Bauers faced Buttó first and took him to a full count before hitting a home run to deep right field. The Brewers were up 1-0. On the next pitch, Sal Frelick hit another home run out to right field. The Brewers had a 2-0 lead.
With just two innings to get through, Pat Murphy went to Freddy Peralta, who had pitched in game one and did not have a good day. However, needing an inning before Williams, he made the call for Peralta. It worked perfectly, with Peralta needing just 13 pitches to get through the Mets in order. At the end of this inning, the Brewers’ chances of winning and advancing to the NLDS was at 94%.
Williams came in for the ninth to close out the game. The inning started simliar to what we’ve seen from Williams in the past, as he walked Jose Iglesias to begin the inning. He stabilized a little against Mark Vientos, striking him out for the first out of the inning. The bit of confidence from that was erased after Brandon Nimmo singled, and the go-ahead run came to the plate. In one swing, Pete Alonso broke the hearts of so many Brewers’ fans. A three-run home run put the Mets ahead 3-2.
Williams could not recover from there, recording just one more out and allowing another run on a Starling Marte RBI before he was finally pulled. Ross finished out the inning. The Brewers had one more chance against Peterson, and Frelick gave fans hope with a leadoff single. However, a strikeout by Ortiz, followed by a double-play ball from Turang, ended the Brewers’ season.
Not only was this the worst game of the season, but it’s also likely the worst game of the Brewers’ past five seasons. To find a game that was more heartbreaking than this one, you would have to go back to the 2019 Wild Card Game against the Nationals at a minimum. The better candidate would be Game 7 of the 2018 NLCS. This one will take a while to get over, and it might not happen until the Brewers win another playoff series.