'The Son of the Wind' Lee Jeong-hu (27, San Francisco Giants) led the Milwaukee Brewers to hold a team meeting after the game. After repeated loose defense, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy (67) demanded that the players awaken.
Milwaukee lost a comeback game 5-6 against the San Francisco Giants in an away match at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, on the 25th (Korean time).
It was a game where San Francisco's No. 3 batter and center fielder Lee Jeong-hu frustrated Milwaukee with his offensive and defensive play. In his first at-bat of the first inning, Lee exploded with a game-tying RBI double, and he reached base three times with walks in the third and fifth innings. On defense, after catching a sacrifice fly by Christian Yelich in the first inning, he quickly threw to first base to complete a double play, showcasing his excellent performance on both sides. In this four-game series, Lee recorded a batting average of .333 (5 hits in 15 at-bats) with 2 RBIs and 3 walks, including one double and one triple.
After finishing a four-game away series in San Francisco with 1 win and 3 losses, Milwaukee held an emergency meeting in the clubhouse. According to MLB.com, manager Murphy locked the clubhouse door for 30 minutes and had a discussion with the players.
Manager Murphy summarized the reason for the meeting, saying, "This was the worst defense over the past 10 years I have been part of this team." Milwaukee is known for its strong defense, having received Gold Glove awards for two consecutive years (2023-2024) in the National League, but in this four-game series, they recorded 4 errors.
Errors can happen at any time, but the loose play angered manager Murphy. In this game, there were two inexplicable defensive mistakes that allowed the lead to slip away. In the eighth inning, with one out and runners on second and third, a ground ball by Mike Yastrzemski was mishandled by Bryce Turang, whose high throw home allowed the runner from third, Tyler Fitzgerald, to score. Though it was officially recorded as a fielder's choice, it was essentially an error and tied the game at 5-5.
Following that, an unbelievable defensive misplay occurred with one out and runners on first and third. Left fielder Christian Yelich missed a sacrifice fly ball from Willy Adames. Although it was a line drive that could have easily been caught to set up a play at home, Yelich inexplicably let it slip through his glove, resulting in both a sacrifice fly and a fielding error. This was the decisive point of the game.
After the game, manager Murphy said, "As a leader, I needed to say something. It was about love and discipline. I also need to show more affection for the team, and we need to have more discipline. To become an elite team, we must play in a slightly more extraordinary manner. It hasn’t been the case often in the last season, but we need to maintain the sharpness we showed frequently to remain competitive."
Yelich noted, "When mistakes happen, it's important not to let them go unaddressed to prevent them from worsening. In that sense, I think today's meeting was good," and regarding whether the team's defensive issues are temporary, he said, "That might be the case. We performed poorly overall in the four-game series; it wasn't characteristic of us, and we need to correct it." Turang also expressed confidence, saying, "It was a strange series, but we will be fine. We can overcome this."
Manager Murphy emphasized, "This meeting was not about criticism but to have a conversation about awareness and responsibility. I hope it becomes a productive meeting," adding, "We cannot say we didn't spend enough money or that we don't have a power-hitting third baseman. If you're going to come to our team, you need to understand that you have to play in a certain way to win. Everyone needs to realize that again," highlighting the importance of fundamentals as a small-market team.
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