The National League leader in wins is none other than Milwaukee Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby, who’s gone 10-0 despite working exclusively in relief.
As a reminder, “wins” are assigned to pitchers on the victorious team with a variety of tenets. A starting pitcher must work at least five innings to qualify, but if his team takes the lead while he’s in the game and never gives it back, then the starter will get the win.
But if a team takes a late lead that it holds onto, then the last pitcher to record an out before the lead change is credited with the win. If a starter doesn’t work five innings but his team establishes a lead that it never surrenders during his tenure, then the official scorer is free to reward the win to the most effective reliever.
Here’s how Aaron Ashby has gotten his 10 wins in 2026:
March 28 vs. Chicago White Sox (6-1 win)
The Brewers never trailed Chicago, but starter Chad Patrick only went 4⅓ innings, meaning this was an example where an official scorer could reward the win to the most effective reliever. The Brewers picked up scoreless innings from four relievers, but Ashby worked the most, 1⅔ innings in which he allowed no hits and two walks, and struck out four.
April 1 vs. Tampa Bay Rays (8-2 win)
The Brewers were tied at 2-2 before going on a six-run outburst in the eighth, ignited memorably by a three-run Christian Yelich home run. Ashby worked the top of the eighth inning, allowing a walk before getting a flyout and a double-play ball.
April 6 at Boston Red Sox (8-6 win)
The teams were tied in a wacky battle at Fenway Park when Ashby got the final out of the sixth and recorded three straight flyouts after allowing a walk and single to open the seventh. That set the table for a Brewers rally in the bottom half, with a two-run single by Garrett Mitchell giving the Brewers the lead for good.
April 15 vs. Toronto Blue Jays (2-1 win)
Ashby allowed another walk and hit but also struck out three batters in the top of the eighth, keeping the Brewers’ deficit at just 1-0. Then, Milwaukee took the lead in the bottom half, getting an RBI single from William Contreras and a go-ahead groundout by Brice Turang. Abner Uribe locked down the save, and Ashby was 4-0.
April 16 vs. Toronto Blue Jays (2-1 win)
One day later, Ashby was 5-0 thanks to a win with an identical score. This time, he only recorded one out, allowing a single before a groundout to keep the game tied at 1-1 in the seventh, following a strong start from Brandon Sproat. In the bottom of the seventh, Joey Ortiz was the third straight Brewers batter to bunt, a sacrifice that scored the go-ahead run.
May 6 at St. Louis Cardinals (6-2 win)
The Brewers never trailed, but Sproat left after four one-hit innings, with four relievers combining to allow two runs the rest of the way. Ashby threw two of those innings, the sixth and seventh, and permitted just one walk with no hits and a strikeout. That made him 6-0.
May 9 vs. New York Yankees (4-3 win)
This was one of Ashby’s best performances, working a 1-2-3 ninth in a 2-2 tie and then working through the 10th, having allowed only the automatic runner to score on a two-out single by Ryan McMahon. The Brewers picked him up, getting an RBI single from Jackson Chourio to tie the game and a sacrifice fly from Contreras for a walk-off winner.
May 15 at Minnesota Twins (3-2 win)
For the first time, Ashby somewhat contributed to a lost lead that enabled him to get the win, although a caveat is required. After Brewers starter Coleman Crow allowed two singles to open the sixth with a 1-0 lead, Ashby entered in the bottom of the sixth and allowed an inherited runner to score … but it was on a double play that allowed Ashby to escape with no further damage. Ashby then worked the seventh, too, allowing four singles and a wild pitch but somehow escaping with just one run allowed. Down 2-1, the Brewers went to work in the eighth, getting a fielder’s choice RBI from Contreras to tie the game and a go-ahead double by Jake Bauers. Ashby moved to 8-0.
May 27 vs. St. Louis Cardinals (2-1 win)
This required some dramatic late magic from the Crew, who were no-hit by the Cardinals through eight innings and trailed, 1-0, when Ashby worked a scoreless seventh and eighth. Mitchell doubled leading off the eighth to break the spell, and shaky defense allowed the Brewers to take the lead on a Yelich single with two outs and an error by shortstop Masyn Winn. Ashby went to 9-0.
June 16 vs. Cleveland Guardians (2-1 win)
Brewers manager Pat Murphy admitted after this game that Ashby legitimately “vultured” this win, meaning it was the first time he definitively caused the circumstances that made the win available. Nursing a 1-0 lead in the seventh, Ashby walked a batter, then threw a wild pitch and allowed a game-tying single by Gabriel Arias, negating an opportunity for Robert Gasser to get the win. But Mitchell homered leading off the seventh and, though Ashby walked another man leading off the eighth, Abner Uribe preserved the lead in the eighth and the Brewers held on for victory, making Ashby an even 10-0.
In fairness, it was remarkable that Ashby didn’t get a win June 8, when the Brewers took a four-run lead in extras with Ashby in line for the victory, only to allow four runs before beating the Athletics, 15-14. So we’ll call it even.
Could Ashby make the all-star team or get Cy Young votes?
The “win” statistic doesn’t carry anything close to the weight it once did and, while Ashby has pitched well, it’s easy to dismiss the 10-0 mark as a quirk of circumstances.
With a 2.86 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 44 innings, Ashby has done some impressive work, but he also has a WHIP in excess of 1.3.
He’s probably among the more valuable relievers in the NL, but there are comparable arms. Washington’s Brad Lord (5-0) leads baseball with 48 relief innings, and he has a 2.44 ERA even though he’s striking out batters at a lower clip than Ashby. Colorado’s Antonio Senzatela (6-0) has 39 innings and a 2.29 ERA.
Ashby stacks up with those pitchers, but without a traditional allotment of saves (something that strengthens the already formidable all-star cases of San Diego’s Mason Miller and Philadelphia’s Jhoan Duran), it’s probably still a longshot that Ashby gets an all-star nod.
His case to get Cy Young votes has even longer odds with a deep pool of starting-pitching talent in this year’s field, not the least of which is teammate Jacob Misiorowski.
Who had the most wins for a reliever in a Brewers season?
Jim Slaton recorded 14 wins as a relief pitcher in 1983. That was itself an interesting career quirk. Slaton spent most of his career as a starter and is the franchise’s all-time leader in innings pitched and wins.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How did Aaron Ashby get to 10-0 already? Here’s an in-depth look
Reporting by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
