The Milwaukee Brewers were down to their last strike against the St. Louis Cardinals. And in some people’s minds, their last realistic strike for the 2019 season.
Milwaukee was down three games to the Washington Nationals in the race for the second and final playoff spot in the National League on this hot Sunday afternoon. If they lost, they would be 3.5 games behind Washington with only 13 games to play.
The Brewers were down 4-3 to the Cardinals in the top of the ninth inning, with the bases loaded and two out. Ryan Braun had two strikes against him when he swinged at a pitch from Junior Fernandez.
A few seconds later, the Milwaukee Brewers suddenly had renewed hope for their second consecutive playoff berth.
A few minutes later, they completed a 7-6 comeback win over the co-archrival Cardinals.
10 days, nine games and eight wins later, the Brewers were playoff-bound, thanks an 18-2 stretch in September.
With one of those wins being one of the most scintillating September successes in Brewers history.