The Milwaukee Brewers struggled against their division mates for much of this season, but that's changed recently.
Since Aug. 31, the Brewers are 8-3 against NL Central teams, and each club is a postseason contender -- 3-2 vs. the Cardinals, 3-0 vs. the Pirates and 2-1 vs. the Cubs.
Now, the Brewers face a non-playoff team in Cincinnati. Can the trend continue? Here's how Milwaukee has fared in those 11 games: 5.0 runs per game, .268 batting average and a 2.88 ERA (compared to 3.69 r/g, .224 BA and 4.34 ERA previous to Aug. 31).
If Milwaukee is on the winning side of the ledger, expect that Ryan Braun and/or Chris Carter were smoking the ball.
HIGHEST SLUGGING IN TEAM WINS, NL
| Player | Team | SLG% |
| Trevor Story | Rockies | .731 |
| Ryan Braun | Brewers | .723 |
| Chris Carter | Brewers | .715 |
| Matt Carpenter | Cardinals | .706 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | Marlins | .704 |
Carter has 25 home runs in Milwaukee victories. Only Kris Bryant of the Cubs has more homers in team wins in the National League, with 32.
Other notes:
-- Brewers starter Wily Peralta has the second-best differential in opponent batting average decline from before the All-Star break to after. Opponents were batting .358 against Peralta before the break but just .221 since, a .137 difference. Only Baltimore's Ubaldo Jimenez has been better (-.138). His ERA has also dropped considerably, from 6.68 to 5.47 (he has a 3.35 ERA post-All-Star break).
-- Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips (100) and Joey Votto (90) rank second and fourth in most career RBI vs. Milwaukee among active players.
-- The Brewers and Reds rank 1-2 in the major leagues not only in stolen bases but also caught stealings. In addition, Milwaukee ranks first in steals of third base (32) and Cincinnati is second (29).
Statistics courtesy STATS LLC
