It took three days for the Brewers to go from upset-minded NL Central contender to teetering on the edge of the postseason race. Over the course of three brutal, gutting losses—one to the Pirates and two to the Cubs—Milwaukee has seen its playoff hopes take an absolute beating, throwing away three consecutive chances to cut into Chicago’s division lead and falling completely out of the Central race. Now the Brewers are on the verge of disappearing in the wild-card chase as well.
Start with Wednesday’s game in Pittsburgh. Holding a 4–3 lead going into the bottom of the eighth and trailing the Cubs in the division by 3 ½ games, reliever Anthony Swarzak gave up a one-out double to Andrew McCutchen, then got Josh Bell to strike out for the second out.