Survival through extra-inning marathons and high-altitude battles propelled Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-5 record, securing a dominant National League Central lead despite a late stumble against the Athletics.
Finally, the Milwaukee Brewers grueling 13-game stretch has come to an end. What began on May 29 came to an end on June 10 with the team being awarded with a pair of off days on June 11 and June 15.
Going into the nearly two-week stretch, Milwaukee sat at 33-20. Here at the end ,they blew a series in Las Vegas to the Athletics, but managed to improve to 41-25. overall, an 8-5 stretch in a schedule like this is completely justifiable.
Here on June 11, the Brewers hold a 3.5-game lead in the NL Central. The Chicago Cubs have fallen to an even .500 after their red-hot start which gave the Brewers plenty of room to take sole possession of first place, even though they're just 6-4 in their last 10.
Three Extra Inning Games
Manager Pat Murphy knew he'd have to dip into his starting rotation to keep the bullpen fresh, but things didn't go according to plan when Milwaukee needed ten innings to take down the Houston Astros to open this stretch.
Milwaukee needed extra innings on May 29, June 5, and June 8. It just so happens that two of those three games happened to be at elevation, something that favors the offense far more than each team's relievers.
Ultimately, the Brewers went 3-0 in those extra inning games, winning a pair by one run and the third by two runs.
Pair of Two-Game Losing Streaks
The Brewers seemed to be in control of a four-game series with the San Francisco Giants, but they were defeated in game three, 1-0, and fell in a wild series finale, 12-9. After outscoring San Francisco in the first two games, 24-5, that was quite a fall from grace.
Not only did they have that two-game skid, but they ended the 13-game stretch being outscored 11-8 by the Athletics. The tone was set with a combined 29 runs in the first game, something that completely changed the Brewers in the final two of the series.
Milwaukee Took Two of the Four Series
Of the four series, Milwaukee only lost the finale against the A's. At that point, Murphy and Co. was just seeing light at the end of the tunnel and whatever happened, happened. Elsewhere, they took two of three games in Houston and swept the Colorado Rockies while splitting a rare four-game series against the Giants, a team who has far from lived up to the hype this season.
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