The Milwaukee Brewers still have baseball's best record, but this weekend was a bit of a rough patch.
After taking game one of their series with the San Francisco Giants, the Brewers let their foot off the gas a bit. San Francisco got an easy win on Saturday, then came back in dramatic fashion on Sunday with a two-run single to take the lead in the top of the ninth inning when they were down to their last strike.
On a day when the Brewers were honoring the late, great Bob Uecker for his six decades of loyalty to the franchise, the last-minute loss was a bit of a buzzkill.
After stealing the headlines across the sport with a 14-game winning streak, the Brewers are sinking back to the pack just a tad. Their lead in the National League Central, which peaked at nine games, is now down to five following the Chicago Cubs' sweep of the Los Angeles Angels.
“We’re not trending in the right direction,” Murphy said, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
Murphy was complimentary of his team for fighting hard during the series, putting balls in play, and pitching with a couple of men down in their bullpen. But a 3-6 stretch isn't what this team expects from itself anymore.
Furthermore, Murphy mostly wished his team could have the victory to commemorate Uecker's memory on a great day of tributes at American Family Field.
“God, I wish we could have got that for Ueck,” Murphy said, per McCalvy. “What a great crowd, a great turnout to honor such an incredible man. I didn’t think there was any way that the baseball gods would bestow this on us.”
Family, Brewers alumni, and thousands upon thousands of adoring fans still got their day to honor a titan of the sport, one of its all-time great broadcasters and stewards.
Moving forward, though, the Brewers know they have plenty to clean up before beginning their series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
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