The Milwaukee Brewers completely dismantled the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-2, on Saturday. It was a relentless shellacking from the get go, as the Brewers tagged Pirates starter Cody Ponce for three runs in the first inning and two in the second.
The Brewers would set a season high with 16 hits. There were some notable performances, such as catcher Omar Narváez setting a career high with five hits, Jace Peterson going 3-for-5 with a career-high-tying four RBI and Avisaíl García going 3-for-6 with five RBI. Starting pitcher Eric Lauer only allowed one run in his 6 1/3 innings of work, too.
Really, though, with the opponent being the last-place Pirates, this was less about one game and more about how well the Brewers are going right now.
On May 26, the Brewers lost. They would then win 14 of their next 16 games. They then dropped five in a row before getting back to their winning ways. They’ve won 13 of their last 14 games. Since that May 26 low point, the Brewers are an MLB-best 27-8. They have gone from three games back and in third place to an eight-game lead in the NL Central — in addition to the Brewers’ hot streak the Cubs and Cardinals have both fallen apart.
Saturday’s win marked the 11th straight for the Brewers. In the history of the franchise, there have been five 10-game winning streaks and now just two longer than that.
In 1986-87, the Brewers ripped off 16 straight wins, but that was three games to end 1986 and 13 to begin 1987 — to be clear, that means the franchise record is 13. This 11-game streak is the second-longest in the history of the Brewers, which dates back to the 1969 Seattle Pilots.
Per SportsLine, the Brewers have a 93.5 percent chance to make the playoffs and their chances of taking the division are over 90 percent as well. If they do make the playoffs, it’ll be the fourth-straight season. Prior to 2018, the Brewers had only made the playoffs four times total.
All this is to say, we’re right in the middle of the Golden Age of Brewers baseball.
As for the chances of setting the franchise record here, though, it’s a pretty tall order. First off, it’s incredibly difficult to win every single day in this sport for any team. The Brewers themselves surely know this. Secondly, after Sunday’s game against the hapless Pirates, the Brewers travel to New York to take on the first-place Mets. The Mets are 24-11 at home. Jacob deGrom is the scheduled starter on Tuesday, too.
Still, the Brewers are on a historic run right now and deserve attention for it.
