Milwaukee Brewers: Is it okay for fans to panic now?

The Milwaukee Brewers have dropped the first two of a crucial three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals. Is this the beginning of a late season collapse or just a bump in the road?

If the playoffs started today, the Milwaukee Brewers would have to watch the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals play for the NL Wild Card. Wasn’t this team in first place in July?

How bad is it really?

Well, it’s not good. The Milwaukee Brewers are 3-7 in their last 10 games, and have lost three in a row. They have won five out of 15 in August. They are 1/2 game out of the second Wild Card, and 4 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs for the NL Central. None of this is good on August 18th.

Is there any reason for hope?

Actually, yeah. The offense really hasn’t been that bad. The Milwaukee Brewers had a .773 OPS as a team in August heading into Saturday night’s game. The Philadelphia Phillies have a .678 team OPS in August and they’re leading the Wild Card race.

Ryan Braun, Jesus Aguilar, Hernan Perez, and Mike Moustakas are producing. Despite the results against the Cardinals, the offense has actually been a bright spot this month.

Any reason for concern?

Pitching. As a team heading into Saturday night’s game, the Milwaukee Brewers owned a 6.80 team ERA in August. That’s the worst in the National League by a wide margin.

The Miami Marlins are the second worst in August with a 5.39 team ERA, and they have maybe two or three guys who could win a job on the Brewers. Javy Guerra, Brett Graves, and Drew Rucinski have jobs in the Marlins bullpen. None of you could recognize any of those guys if they were standing next to you right now.

The Milwaukee Brewers have one starting pitcher with a sub-4.00 ERA in August and that’s Wade Miley.

What’s the schedule look like?

After the series with the Cardinals? The Milwaukee Brewers return home for a six-game home stand that features three games against the Cincinnati Reds and three against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

After those six the Brewers go back on the road for three games in Cincinnati and end the month in Washington.

The Milwaukee Brewers still have six games against the Cubs and three against the Cardinals (after Sunday). Their playoff status is far from set in stone, but they need to get out of this funk they’re in. Whether it means rolling Josh Hader out there as a starter, or pulling off an August trade, the Brewers need to find solutions on the mound and fast.