Once again, it is officially that time of year in baseball.
Class is back in session in schools, the end-of-summer sales are booming, and the Brewers, as they have trended over the last five seasons, are back in a race for the division title.
Milwaukee enters the day with a three-and-a-half game lead over the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds, which feels like a comfortable lead, and don’t get me wrong, it is, in fact, the largest lead since April in the division for any team, but these next two weeks will be the determining factor on how this race takes shape.
The Brewers will embark on tough back-to-back road match-ups with division leaders in the LA Dodgers and Texas Rangers.
Meanwhile, the Cubs will face off with the reeling White Sox, and get a visit from the second-to-last worst team in baseball, the Kansas City Royals.
The Red’s schedule is less favorable than the Cubs but still relatively more manageable than Milwaukee’s.
If, and it’s a big if, the Brewers can withstand these next five games and get back to Milwaukee by the end of August with their current lead, they will be in a prime position to take another division crown, especially while getting some key players back from the injured list.
If they falter and allow the red-hot Cubs to catch up, it’ll feel like 2022 all over again, and the questions about this club’s future will begin to creep into existence.
