Tom Krasovic: Have the small-market Brewers unlocked a cheat code to beat LA?

Tom Krasovic, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jul 20, 2025

Published in Baseball

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SAN DIEGO — Baseball seasons serve up all kinds of surprises.

Here’s a fresh one, and while I don’t know what to make of it, you can be sure San Diego Padres leaders will take interest in it, small sample size notwithstanding.

Sunday, the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers yet again. The 6-5 decision at Dodger Stadium gave low-payroll Milwaukee six consecutive victories against high-payroll Los Angeles this month.

The last time the Padres won six consecutive games against the Dodgers within a season?

The year was 2010.

Maybe a quirk is all this was. The Dodgers, who tend to brush off bad outcomes, still lead the Padres by 3 1/2 games in the National League West standings. They’re still a heavy favorite to win the divisional race. Just last season, the Dodgers overcame an extreme number of pitching injuries, plus a Padres surge in the season’s second half, to win their 11th divisional crown in 12 years.

But if only for diligence’s sake, Padres leaders have to consider a few things relating to the Brewers going 6-0 against the defending World Series champions.

The trade deadline comes July 31.

Did the Brewers expose the Dodgers as a tad less formidable than Padres talent man A.J. Preller may have thought when the month began and when L.A. came out of the All-Star break Friday?

Preller has made “go for it” moves in two recent summers. If he believes the Padres have a realistic shot at winning the trophy, he has shown he’ll upgrade the team going into the stretch push.

Milwaukee’s pitching plans should pique the Padres’ interest, too.

The Padres, whose pitchers and coaches are terrific at reading opposing hitters, might glean a useful nugget or two there.

Brewers pitchers held L.A. to a .163 batting average and four runs in Milwaukee. Then in the series opener Friday in Dodger Stadium, they won 2-0, getting a gem from a low-pay pitcher, Quinn Priester, who had 10 strikeouts and zero walks over his six innings. The Brewers are Priester’s third franchise in four years. His salary: $760,000.

Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages have dealt the Padres numerous headaches.

Betts went 2 for 21 with five strikeouts in five games against Milwaukee. Pages was 3 for 22 with eight strikeouts and no walks, and Freeman was 2 for 22 with 10 strikeouts before exiting Sunday’s game after he was hit by a pitch.

The Brewers have to outsmart teams like the Dodgers because they’re a full galaxy apart in spending.

L.A.’s MLB-best payroll is $274 million greater than Milwaukee’s outlay, which stands 23rd. For every dollar the Brewers spend on their big-league roster, the Dodgers spend more than three.

The Padres bring a lot of fastball heat. So do the Brewers, and their velocity made the Dodgers look sluggish until the final two games. In the three games at Milwaukee, the Dodgers batted .193 against the quintet of rookie Jacob Misiorowski, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill. Per Sports Illustrated, those five averaged 96.3 mph with the fastball.

Last month, I wrote about how the Padres would treat the Brewers with respect rather than look ahead to their season-first series against the Dodgers that followed. When he led the rival Cardinals, manager Mike Shildt gained an appreciation for the Brewers’ ability to outperform their payroll in most seasons.

The Padres did match and exceed the Brewers’ attention to detail, winning two of the three games in Milwaukee. Ruben Niebla’s pitchers allowed only six earned runs in the 27 innings.

Where the Padres have an advantage over the Brewers is star power, reflected in San Diego’s payroll, which is $90 million larger.

But the Brewers and Cubs are denting the belief that the National League West is the league’s best division.

At 59-40, the NL Central co-leaders also have the National League’s best win-loss mark.

Are the Brewers now upper-tier World Series contenders themselves, as they try to reach a second Fall Classic in franchise history?

It’ll be interesting to see how their leaders view their chances. Adding a power hitter might make sense, as the team stands just 23rd in home runs and home runs are needed to win the trophy.

In the summer trade market, the team’s front office and owner Mark Attanasio tend to be conservative.

The Padres, who have three September home dates with the Brewers, will be among the teams paying attention.

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