MILWAUKEE (AP) — Aaron Ashby's playoff struggles in previous years taught him how important it was to avoid getting caught up in the pressure of the moment.
The mindset shift has helped the Milwaukee Brewers left-hander deliver one of the great runs by any reliever in postseason history.
Ashby finished a five-out save after the Brewers rallied from a four-run deficit in a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays for a 2-0 World Series lead Saturday night. He struck out Yandy Díaz and ended the game by stranding the tying run at third base.
That extended Ashby’s shutout streak this postseason to 15 2/3 innings. According to Sportradar, Cleveland’s Andrew Miller had the longest streak of consecutive scoreless relief innings within one postseason with 16 in 2016. Including the regular season, Ashby has thrown a career-best 20 2/3 straight scoreless innings.
“I don’t know that I have the words to describe it,” the 28-year-old Ashby said of his playoff success. “Maybe when it’s all said and done.”
Ashby has been one of many outstanding bullpen performers during Milwaukee's playoff run.
Brewers relievers have allowed seven earned runs over 50 2/3 postseason innings. That has helped the Brewers come from behind in seven of their nine playoff victories.
Ashby's performance is particularly notable because of how he had struggled in previous postseasons.
Before this year, Ashby had allowed nine runs – eight earned – in 9 1/3 playoff innings. Ashby believed he knew the reason why he had come up short.
“Trying to grip it too tight and make too much happen, be too good, throw too hard,” Ashby said. “Any number of things you can do in a big situation when there’s a lot of adrenaline.”
Now he’s reminding himself to take a breath and trust his stuff. The results have his teammates marveling at his poise under pressure.
“He’s just low-key, man,” Brewers captain Christian Yelich said after Game 1. “He just goes with the flow. He’s got the same heartbeat every day. He’s been like that for us all season.”
That approach has made him the guy the Brewers trust as much as anyone when a game’s on the line.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy showed his faith in Ashby by bringing him back out for the ninth inning after he already had gotten the final two outs in the eighth. Ashby allowed a leadoff double to Jonny DeLuca before striking out Victor Mesa Jr. and retiring pinch hitter Ben Williamson on a grounder to the right side.
That brought up the right-handed Díaz, who got ahead 3-1 in the count after Ashby threw two pitches in the dirt. Ashby froze him with a backdoor breaking ball to make it 3-2, then Díaz attempted to check his swing but didn’t get the call, throwing up his arms in frustration.
“I didn’t go look at it, but from my vantage point, it did look like that he swung,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Ashby credited William Contreras for guiding him through that final inning.
“I’m just trusting him,” Ashby said. “There’s not a lot of thinking I’ve got to do. He’s locked in right now.”
Murphy was asked after the game how he chose to bring Ashby back out for the ninth rather than using usual closer Trevor Megill.
“Very carefully,” Murphy quipped. “Very carefully.”
But he spoke before the game about the progress Ashby has made that has enabled him to shine in the postseason spotlight.
“The thing that comes to mind first is his commitment to his teammates,” Murphy said. “He’s been through a lot, this kid -- major surgery on his shoulder — not everybody comes back from that. His rehabs and what he’s been through, ups and downs, minor leagues, big leagues, starter, reliever, long reliever. I mean, it’s been a lot.
“He’s committed to his teammates, and he knows that’s a responsibility on himself to continue to improve, and he’s done that.”
Indeed, Ashby has taken a winding road to get to this point.
Ashby signed a five-year, $20.5 million contract in the summer of 2022 as he alternated between starting and relief roles early in his career. He underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery the following April, knocking him out for the entire 2023 season. He was struggling in the minor leagues with a drop in velocity for much of the 2024 season before he started feeling like himself again.
He eventually carved out a niche as a key member of Milwaukee’s bullpen. Now he’s one of the biggest reasons why the Brewers are two victories away from winning the World Series for the first time ever.
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