Murphy's concerns with struggling Crew highlighted in collapse vs. Nats

MILWAUKEE -- They filed out of the manager’s office at American Family Field one by one early Saturday afternoon: William Contreras, Wade Miley, Willy Adames, Freddy Peralta, Rhys Hoskins and Christian Yelich. It was a quorum which Brewers manager Pat Murphy calls “the pillars,” and this monthly leadership meeting happened to come at a time when the skipper wasn’t particularly happy.

“I haven’t liked what I saw for the last couple weeks,” Murphy said.

A 6-5 loss to the Nationals didn’t help. The Brewers sent 10 men to the plate in the first inning, coaxed 60 pitches and scored five runs with the sort of relentless approach that Murphy felt had lately been missing -- only to suffer their worst collapse of the season.

While Brewers hitters were held scoreless from the second inning through the eighth, the Nationals pecked away and eventually claimed the lead on CJ Abrams’ two-run homer in the ninth off Brewers closer Trevor Megill. It was both an indication of the way the Brewers’ bullpen is limping toward the All-Star break, and the urgency of the moment that Murphy called for Megill to attempt a four-out save for the first time. A misplaced fastball to Abrams foiled the plan.

The result was the Brewers’ biggest blown lead in a loss -- their previous mark was three runs -- along with their second loss in 51 games when leading after eight innings, their seventh loss in the last nine games and a third consecutive losing series.

“I don’t think it really means much more than it’s a tough stretch, and that’s how this really hard game goes,” Hoskins said. “It sucks. We hate it. It’s probably good for us in the long run. We just have to keep on keeping on, because we have the talent in here.

“Sometimes the game just doesn’t cooperate.”

Murphy had intended to gather Hoskins and his other pillars for a while now, but Brandon Woodruff was away for the birth of his second child and Devin Williams has been busy preparing for a Minor League rehabilitation assignment. By Saturday, a meeting felt necessary. Murphy was unusually open in his criticism of the team after a four-hit effort in Friday’s series-opening loss to the Nationals, which followed series losses to the Dodgers and Pirates.

So, for nearly an hour on Saturday, the six pillars and the manager talked behind a closed door.

“They’re the core of the team,” Murphy said. “They’re the leadership group and they’re essential. This game is about people and you can’t take it away from the people who play it and compete. We offer guidance and influence, but they play the game. That’s why I started the group and that’s why I believe in it. …

“We’re trying to play to a standard. I just won’t tolerate, ‘Ah, we’re just going through a rough stretch.’ Maybe I should. But I like to bring it to the forefront in these types of sessions.”

The Brewers’ response came at the expense of Nationals rookie starter Mitchell Parker, who labored through a first inning that kept going and going. Parker threw 46 pitches for two outs. More than a third of his pitches --16 of 46 -- were spoiled by foul balls. Four of Parker’s seven Brewers hitters worked into three-ball counts, including Hoskins for a two-out, two-run double that opened the scoring, and Andruw Monasterio for another RBI double that knocked Parker from the game.

The Brewers tacked on an Eric Haase two-run single against Parker’s replacement, Jordan Weems, before finally relenting. But then Washington started a comeback with a series of well-placed ground balls against Dallas Keuchel while Milwaukee’s offense sputtered. The Brewers' best chances came in the third, when Blake Perkins and Haase struck out with runners at second and third base, and in the ninth, when Washington right fielder Lane Thomas made a game-ending catch near the wall to rob Joey Ortiz of at least a tying hit.

“The same type of wins we had, the other teams are beating us that way,” Murphy said. “[The Nationals] are young, nothing to lose, playing free. We’re playing a little bit like, ‘God, are we going to be OK?’”

It’s no time to let up, Megill said. The Brewers will have to win Sunday’s series finale to avoid being swept for only the second time this season.

“It’s that ‘grindy’ part of the season right before the break,” Megill said. “Guys are a little tired, banged up. It’s definitely been a little difficult this week. Hopefully we come out and we handle business [Sunday], get a good All-Star break in and have everybody fresh for the second half.”