Brewers coaches and front office officials have spent hours in meetings and Zoom sessions over recent days discussing how to get through this particularly burdensome stretch of the schedule without blowing out the pitching on the cusp of a pennant push.

To twist the knife, the Brewers found themselves in an almost identical situation in the eighth inning, albeit against a less established pitcher. They squeezed a four-run rally out of Cubs reliever Gavin Hollowell’s three consecutive one-out walks.

The Chicago Cubs will have a chance to cut into an eight-game deficit in the NL Central when they welcome in the Milwaukee Brewers for a five-game series.