As win upon Brewers win kept stoking Milwaukee’s scalding hot streak, you could sense the mood shifting.
They hit the All-Star break on a seven-game winning streak, second-best in all of baseball, behind only Boston’s 10-game stretch. They also won 8 of 10 to end the month of June, so dating back to June 19, they’ve gone 17-5, putting them at 56-40 for the season.
The Brewers, of course, have been on a streak before. And folks have, of course, felt good about the Brewers before. Great, even.
But this version of Brewers optimism feels different. A bit deeper. Seemingly rooted more in faith than hope.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Maybe it’s the youthful innocence of Jacob Misiorowski, whose All-Star nod irritated rivals, only for him to show up and prove exactly why he belonged. There’s always a danger in putting too much on someone so young so soon, but if anyone seems capable of handling such pressure, it’s the Miz.
Maybe it’s the instant impact of Andrew Vaughan, cast off by the White Sox in exchange for a disgruntled Aaron Civale, who demanded a trade after the Brewers bumped him to the bullpen. Mind you, it was future All-Star Misiorowski’s promotion to the majors that prompted this bullpen decision, and Civale’s trade demand. And considering Curt Hogg’s statistician juxtaposition of their results, Brewers fans are all too happy that Civale got what he wanted.
Maybe it’s the resurgence of Christian Yelich, who’s on pace for his best season since 2019, when he was steaming toward a second straight MVP award before a freak September foul ball literally kneecapped his career. Or the steady, old-school wit and wisdom of manager Pat Murphy. Or across-the-board contributions from young talents like Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang and others throughout the lineup.
Or maybe it’s the long-awaited return of Brandon Woodruff, the quintessential veteran presence who also happens to be a helluva hurler. Pitchers returning from shoulder surgery are a mystery box, and Woodruff’s velocity might be down a few ticks, but the early results are better than any Brewers fan could’ve dreamed. And a staff led by Woodruff, Miz, steady Freddy Peralta and lockdown closer Trevor Megill is the stuff of dreams for any club.
And that, quite frankly, is where Brewers fans are right now. Dreamland.
Suddenly, Milwaukee has the fourth-most wins in baseball, just 3 back of Detroit’s MLB-best 59-38 record. The Brewers also swept the team with the second-most wins – the Los Angeles Dodgers – tacking three more losses onto their 58-39 record. And the team with the third-best record? That would be the Chicago Cubs, whose 57-39 record and 1-game National League Central lead hasn’t prevented their fans from sounding… well… a bit nervous.
Take a quick stroll through Cubs social media, and you’ll find “Brewers” and “devil magic” in more than a few sentences. And, if you don’t mind reading a four-letter word, you can giggle at memes of Vaughn and Miz bearing portents of Cubbie doom.
Cubs fans don’t have a monopoly on pessimism as a brand of faith, and Brewers fans have often wallowed in its ersatz comfort. But these days, as the second half of the 2025 season ramps up, optimism ascends above the Good Land. And it’s a healthier flavor of faith.
As the opening credits of Bull Durham roll, Annie Savoy waxes poetic about the nexus of baseball and religion, among a few other things.
“I believe in the Church of Baseball,” she proclaims, before wrapping her soliloquy with timeless baseball advice. “It’s a long season, and you’ve gotta trust it.”
The Brewers have their fans believing, all right. Now comes the rest of the long season, and the trust in the glorious possibilities that might await at its conclusion.
