Pat Murphy made the kind of in-game decision that tells you a manager trusts the moment, even if the timing looks ruthless. In the Milwaukee Brewers' 7-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 20, Murphy pulled Robert Gasser two pitches into an at-bat against Randy Arozarena and replaced him with Chad Patrick.
The move came in the fourth inning and followed a brief but uneasy outing from Gasser, who had worked 11 outs but also issued five free bases and allowed six runs. Murphy later admitted he was emotional in the moment, saying, "I wanted to take him out" and adding, "I was kind of hot. I was a little too emotional right there. He got us 11 outs but gave up five free bases and it looked like he'd have another one, so I just pulled the plug."
Murphy chose the game over the at-bat
That is the key point here. Murphy was not waiting for the next mistake or hoping Gasser could escape the inning on his own. He acted immediately because, as he put it, "You want to win the game" and "You lose that game, it changes a lot."
The Brewers had already seen enough to believe the situation was slipping. Gasser had given them a 1-2-3 third, but the fourth inning brought the kind of pressure that forces a manager to decide whether to stay patient or cut it off. Murphy went with the second option.
This was also the second time in less than three weeks that Murphy removed one of his young starters. On Aug. 3, Brandon Sproat was taken out in the middle of a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates and later demoted to Class AAA Nashville. That earlier decision adds context to Thursday's move, even if the circumstances were not identical.
Chad Patrick steadied the Brewers
Chad Patrick took over from Gasser, and the Brewers went on to finish the job. The bullpen then helped close things down, with Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill locking it down after Gasser's exit. Murphy could at least point to a positive result, even if the process was uncomfortable.
Gasser understood the frustration from his side. "I mean, you see six go up in the first and you kind of start licking your chops as a starter," he said. "You want to go as long as you can, protect the bullpen. It's unfortunate I wasn't able to do that today." He added that it "felt like a battle from the second on," before praising the relief work behind him: "But luckily Chad was nails, and Aaron and Trevor locked it down."
The broader picture for Milwaukee remains encouraging. The Brewers' bullpen had thrown 16 ⅓ scoreless innings in the series from the Brewers' perspective, and the club improved to 7-4. With Abner Uribe still on the injured list while recovering from a forearm strain, every high-leverage decision matters a little more. Murphy's call was aggressive, but on this afternoon it helped protect a game the Brewers could not afford to let drift away.
