Though the Texas Rangers came into the series hot, no one realistically would have expected the Milwaukee Brewers to get swept.
Even after dropping the first two games, it looked as though Milwaukee would right the ship on Wednesday after seizing the early momentum with first-inning back-to-back home runs. But the Rangers had the answers once again, securing a 5-4 victory to pull off the sweep.
The Brewers have been the best team for nearly all of the season, but this series provided an unfortunate reminder of March, when Milwaukee got blown out in three straight games by the New York Yankees. It just so happened that was the last time they got swept, 5 1/2 months ago.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy may not have been in a cheery mood about the sweep, but he was in an understanding one regardless. He gave his team credit for how rarely they get swept, and resolved to get the group right for the postseason.
“We haven’t had too many of these,” Murphy said, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “In the last two years, this is the third time we’ve been swept, right? It stinks, but I don’t think there’s any team in baseball that has played 300 games and been swept three times. I still love our guys and am proud of our guys.
"It’s not a lack of effort, guys. It’s not letting down. It’s maybe the opposite. They’re exhausted and they’re beat up and things did not go our way this week. You guys saw it. That has to happen sometimes in baseball. I’m not saying it’s luck. I credit the Rangers. They were better and they executed at the right times and we just didn’t.”
Texas is a team fighting for its playoff life. Even after the sweep, the Rangers sit 1 1/2 games back of the Seattle Mariners for the final wild card spot in the American League. The Brewers, on the other hand, remained 5 1/2 games up on the Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League Central at the conclusion of play on Wednesday.
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