MILWAUKEE -- Call it do or die, make or break or whatever you want.
The fact of the matter is that the season is on the line for the Milwaukee Brewers on a nine-game road trip beginning Tuesday in St. Louis and continuing on to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
By winning four of its last five, Milwaukee sits 1 1/2 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates for the second wild-card spot and five back of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central with 12 games to play.
Six of the Brewers' nine games on the road trip are against the two teams directly ahead of them in the standings. It leaves them with an opportunity to gain ground quickly but also to bury themselves just as fast.
"It is exciting," Brewers right fielder Ryan Braun said. "All you can ask for is an opportunity to play meaningful games down the stretch. We have 12 games to go. If we go and play really good baseball, ultimately we will find our way into the postseason. All you can ask for is that opportunity. The teams ahead of us are the teams we are playing, which is exciting."
A dreadful stretch of 13 losses in 14 games put the Brewers in position to be pursuing the Pirates and Cardinals instead of being the team that's chased.
Milwaukee was outscored 89-35 during the 14-game stretch, as the pitching, defense and offense all struggled. Thoughts of a losing season popped up after closer Francisco Rodriguez allowed three ninth-inning runs in a 6-3 loss to Miami on Wednesday to drop the Brewers to 74-71.
But two wins over the Marlins and a series win over the Reds in which they played much better baseball left the clubhouse feeling good ahead of the critical trip.
"We were not playing that good, like we are supposed to," Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez said. "The last five we bring it. You see more energy, like everybody want to play -- like real professionals. We play before like little kids. There's no question. We make a lot of errors, a lot of mistakes. You are not going to win games.
"We were one of the best teams in baseball for five months. The last three weeks, we haven't done it right. But the last couple of games, we are showing like we can handle it. We have to finish the last (12) games."
While the pitching and defense seemed to get on track against the Marlins, the Brewers' inability to score runs continued against Reds rookie pitchers Daniel Corcino and David Holmberg.
But a breakout performance Sunday with nine runs on 15 hits was an encouraging sign.
"I don't think you can understate the importance and significance of momentum, and feeling good about ourselves and feeling confident in what we are trying to do as a team," Braun said. "We've played a lot better. If we continue to do that, hopefully we put ourselves in a position to win a lot of games on this road trip."
The offense will be challenged from the get-go on the trip, as the Brewers will face Lance Lynn and Adam Wainwright to start the series in St. Louis. Shelby Miller, who is 5-0 with a 2.30 ERA in seven career starts against Milwaukee, will pitch the series finale for the Cardinals.
Wily Peralta squares off with Lynn on Tuesday, while Mike Fiers will make his return to the mound Wednesday for the first time since hitting Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton in the face last week. The Brewers will send Kyle Lohse to the mound against his former team to wrap up the series Thursday.
"I mean, to be honest with you, we're not looking for the wild card," Gomez said. "We're going for the division. (Twelve) games left, we are (five) behind? If we go to St. Louis and play really good games, we have a really good chance to win the division. I think it means a lot to us.
"We were winning the division for five months, why the last month can't we get it back? Right now we're playing really good baseball. We got Garza back. He's a big tiger for us. Wily came back and threw the ball good. (Yovani) Gallardo was unbelievable (Saturday). I wish everybody can find a way to put it together for that series and come and play the right baseball."
In order for the Brewers to have much of a chance at winning the division they lead for 150 consecutive days, they'll probably have to sweep the Cardinals. It is a long shot, no doubt, but a three-game sweep would put Milwaukee two games back with nine to play.
Realistically, the Brewers need to use the three games against the Cardinals as a way to stay within striking distance of the Pirates in the wild-card hunt before a critical weekend series at PNC Park.
"This is what it should come down to," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "It's there for us if we play good baseball, and the other teams, I'm sure feel the same way. It's good that we're playing in our division, which I've said before is what it should be like. And whoever plays better is going to get in there.
"Just continue to play good ballgames. Hopefully it works out well, and we'll see what happens at the end."
By the time the Brewers return to Miller Park for their final three games of the season against the Chicago Cubs, they should know exactly where they stand in the postseason picture.
"That's what September is," Garza said. "The best way to do it is to take it one game at a time, and we'll see you guys on Tuesday (against the Cardinals)."
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