The Milwaukee Brewers pulled a rabbit out of the hat this weekend in Major League Baseball action as they took two of three games away from the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The venue is one where the Dodgers are better than .750 on the season so Milwaukee, given how they've played since the All Star break, seemed in danger of getting swept. However, in taking two wins away from the Dodgers, the Brew Crew remain close in the Nl Central division's Pennant Race. Milwaukee enters this week two games behind Chicago with seven games between the clubs coming up in the weeks ahead.

Milwaukee's immediate schedule includes a day off on Monday. That's nice for them to have as they come back from a road trip that took them through Colorado, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Later this week the Brew Crew host the Cardinals in a divisional match-up with some importance. The Cards enter the week 2.5 games back of Milwaukee and 4.5 games back of the Cubs. That game, however, is just a two-game series. The Brewers then host the Nationals for four games before traveling to Cincinnati for a set against the Reds.

Loads of games between Cubs/Brewers still

Right now the Brewers have to be feeling good about the fact that they remain in control of their own destiny. Obviously, they'd like to win and hope that Chicago fall, but Milwaukee aren't in a position where they are reliant on other teams to do them favors.

The Brewers and Cubs will meet in a three-game series two weekends from now, one that will come from Wrigley Field. Late in August, the two teams will play a four-game series, that taking place from September 21st to 24th inclusive. This latter series will come from Milwaukee, giving the Brewers a slight edge as they host the extra game between the two clubs.

A lot will be at stake in every series and it's wrong to look at the seven games between the clubs in isolation as though they are the proverbial "be all and end all." However, there certainly does appear to be emerging drama in the NL Central where head to heads could play a big role. The Cardinals are not yet to be discounted so that makes for what could be a tight three-way race in the standings.

Beating LA suggests life in Brew Crew?

The Cubs have generally been the better team since the All Star break, but Milwaukee taking a series off of the Dodgers has to be confidence building. It certainly attests to the team's drive at this point as they were looking in danger of falling behind considerably just a couple of days ago. Instead, the Brewers did what teams have struggled to do all season the most: beat the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
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