Brewers inch closer to clinch with rout of Bucs – MLB.com

MILWAUKEE — The margin of error for teams desirous to earn into the postseason is zero and the little issues would perchance be the variation between sneaking into the playoffs and watching it at house. As the Brewers creep nearer to punching their ticket for October, that message is loud and sure.

“That’s how we’re treating it and that’s how we’ve treated it for a extraordinarily lengthy time,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. ”It’s now not straightforward. We pronounce every sport is the biggest sport of the yr, nonetheless treating it treasure that is infrequently mentally taxing. I mediate our guys personal handled that blueprint back exceptionally effectively.”

• Field pick up

Milwaukee kept up its worthwhile suggestions in a 10-1 seize over the Pirates on Saturday evening at Miller Park. The Brewers’ magic number sits at 5 video games, after the Cubs’ loss to the Cardinals earlier in the day.

“They are saying we misplaced our MVP to the kneecap and guys personal stepped up in his absence,” center fielder Lorenzo Cain said. “That’s what we’re going to prefer to earn the put we desire to be. Guys continuing to play effectively. You understand me, I’m now not elated except we’re in, for sure.”

That mentality Cain speaks of is one which is clear in Brewers’ clubhouse, as Milwaukee has been the freshest crew in baseball. The Brewershave gained 14 of their remaining 16 video games and are 10-2 since Christian Yelich went down with a fractured kneecap.

The crew’s hot stretch has even given Counsell the leeway to be aggressive early in video games — a manner that proved to be functional for the length of Saturday’s victory.

Attempting to push across a speed with two runners on and one out in the fourth inning, the Brewers’ skipper opted to personal Travis Shaw pinch-hit for starter Zach Davies. After Shaw labored a stroll to load the bases, the Brewers scored a pair of runs on RBI walks by Trent Grisham and Mike Moustakas for a 5-1 lead. The offense poured it on after that, adding 5 insurance protection runs across the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to desire a commanding 10-1 lead. Rookie standouts Grisham and Keston Hiura homered.

“I believed we had a possibility to damage the sport open,” Counsell said. “We ended up getting four at-bats with the bases loaded that inning. That gave us some dwelling which I believed used to be critical.”

Chasing the Cubs has become standard working course of for the Brewers in September. After edging Chicago in 2018 for the Nationwide League Central crown, they’ve completed the identical thing this season and personal now begun to build dwelling over their division rival in the NL Wild Card flee.

“It’s extra or much less a lot like remaining yr, in that every single day is that must-seize and it accentuates our play, which has been a calling card [for us] these remaining couple of runs,” reliever Brent Suter said. “Primarily, the remaining three Septembers had been treasure that. It’s a right mindset to personal.”

“I mediate we now personal abilities from remaining yr, lustrous that we can advance relief from a deficit treasure this,” Davies said who allowed one unearned speed on three hits. “I mediate everyone is serious about the job at hand and you’ve got to take dangle of as many video games as that you can presumably also.”

Whereas the Brewers detect what’s occurring, they know getting astray and wanting out on the growth of other teams is now not what’s gotten them to this level.

“We detect, nonetheless all we can discontinue is relief watch over what we can relief watch over here and earn the job completed and earn wins,” Suter said. “All that will desire care of itself if we valid relief worthwhile video games, so that’s what we now must total.”