LOS ANGELES -- Brewers manager Pat Murphy sat back as reporters filed into his office following the dramatic finish to their 6-5 win to finish off their second sweep of the Dodgers this season.
A smile came over his face.
“You got your money’s worth, huh?” he said to the crowd around his desk.
The game itself went almost exactly like the other two at Dodger Stadium this weekend. The Dodgers got off to a quick 3-0 start. The Brewers responded. The two teams traded shots back and forth all afternoon before Milwaukee entered the bottom of the ninth carrying a two-run lead.
Abner Uribe got a quick groundout from Hyeseong Kim before allowing singles to Tommy Edman and Andy Pages. Uribe had Michael Conforto down to his team’s final strike, but Conforto was able to work the count full and eventually load the bases as he took ball four.
Rookie catcher Dalton Rushing hit a soft dribbler that looked like the final out, but he hit it so softly that Joey Ortiz didn’t have time to try and get the forceout at second. Instead, he fired it right to first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who dropped it as Rushing legged it out on Vaughn's missed catch error and Will Smith scored from third.
It was a one-run game with the bases still loaded.
Then, Mookie Betts hit a line drive to center field.
"He could’ve walked us off or he could’ve hit it right to a fielder,” Murphy said.
It was the latter. Right into Blake Perkins’ glove.
"It shows you how hard our game is. You do everything perfect and you hit a line drive right where you need to,” Murphy said. “That’s the way baseball is.”
With the season sweep over the Dodgers (the first time the Brewers have ever done so), the Brewers extended their winning streak to 10 games, the third time since 1995 that Milwaukee has won at least 10 straight.
They're also the first club since the 2006 Cardinals (seven games) and 1994 Braves (six games) to sweep a season series from the Dodgers (min. five games).
What's more, with the Cubs’ loss to the Red Sox earlier on Sunday, the Brewers are tied with Chicago for both a share of first place in the NL Central and the best record in the NL at 59-40.
It’s a far cry from where the Brewers were just a couple of months ago. And perhaps more remarkably, this turnaround wasn’t the result of a blockbuster trade or some power surge -- it’s with players like Vaughn, sent to Milwaukee from the cellar-dwelling White Sox. Players like Perkins, who was activated from the injured list six days ago after being out since March 24 with a right shin injury.
Guys like Isaac Collins and Ortiz.
"It’s a bunch of guys nobody’s ever heard of,” Murphy said. “No disrespect to the great fans of Japan baseball, but they can’t name five guys in our lineup. And that’s just a credit to hungry, hungry players. … I’m still proud of our club and what they did, and how they competed in big situations. A bunch of average Joes.”
Every player in the Brewers’ lineup tallied a base hit on Sunday. They took advantage of three Dodgers errors, two of which came in the Brewers’ three-run rally in the top of the fourth inning that tied the game.
The bullpen also got a boost from starter Jose Quintana, who managed to get through six full innings despite giving up three runs in the fourth.
Quintana, playing for his eighth team in his 14th season, sees something different in the energy of this Milwaukee clubhouse.
"These guys are amazing,” he said. “They want to play. They want to stay hungry all the time. … They turn the pace really quick. If we get a win, we’re on to the next step.”
Backup catcher Eric Haase, who hit an RBI single in the sixth inning that helped the Brewers get out in front of the Dodgers, embodied that mentality. Rather than talk about winning streaks or divisional races, he’s already moved on to what lies directly ahead for the Brewers.
"There’s still a lot of season left and if we finish out winning out the second half, then maybe there’ll be something to be happy and celebrate about,” he said. “But right now, it’s just head down and try to take care of business in Seattle.”