Before Milwaukee’s hot streak, I said on the variety of podcasts that I do (Tapping The Keg, Daily Tap) that the Brewers were an average baseball team. The stats showed it. Milwaukee had been 30-30 in their last 60 games. Part of me wondered why they never were able to get hot this season. My dad and I agreed that this is an average team and that’s the reason. In the past few weeks, things have changed for the better. Brewers are getting clutch hits, getting out to early leads, bullpen figured it, etc. You could argue that Milwaukee is finding themselves at the right time. Brewers won their seventh straight and head into their last showdown of the year with St. Louis this weekend.

Player of the Game: Ryan Braun – If you missed it, Braun is wearing Yelich’s jersey under his currently. And he had the big hit in Thursday’s game. Braun belted a two-run home run that held up throughout the game in the third inning. Braun had not homered since he hit two in Washington in the middle of August. It’s been a while for Braunie, and if he starts hitting jacks down the stretch, look out.

Honorable Mention: Freddy Peralta – If there is a player on this Brewers roster that I truly do not understand, it’s Freddy Peralta. I don’t get it. Sometimes, the dude is lights out like he was on Thursday afternoon. He struck out three batters, went two innings and earned the win according to the official scorer. Other times, he shits the bed like Kendall Roy and barely gets out of an inning. I’m not sure what to make of him, but Peralta did the damn thing on Thursday.

The Thing I Liked: Is it time to admit David Stearns knows more than us? – Remember when Milwaukee Brewers general manager traded for Drew Pomeranz and Ray Black for Mauricio Dubon? We all killed him mostly because Pomeranz had been human trash all year. Well, he might have been right, guys. Pomeranz continues to dominate with another strong outing on Thursday, and Black is hitting his stride as well. Both pitched great on Thursday.

Wild Card update: As you know, the Brewers are tied with the Cubs at the top. Chicago won on Thursday. So did the suddenly hot New York Mets who have won for straight and put Arizona back to 3.5 games. Phillies also won, therefore, no real movement either way in the race. Mets play the Dodgers this weekend. Cubs have the Pirates. Diamondbacks take on Cincinnati and Philly plays Boston.

Next up: Milwaukee heads to St. Louis for a pivotal three-game series. Part of me wants two out of three wins, but I’ll settle for one. Tonight is the big game of this series. Milwaukee wins this one, they’re in a good spot for the rest of the series. They lose, it’s not a big deal, but they still have some work left to do. Adam Wainwright goes for St. Louis. Brewers hit him hard last time they faced him, but he’s been very tough at home. The Crew will send Adrian Houser to the hill. Houser was tough on the Birds in late August.

Charlie.