All true. But even though the Brewers’ 14-game winning streak ended Sunday with a 3-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in 10 innings, their record is best in the majors by six games. The team that opened the season with the sport’s eighth lowest payroll is putting the competition to shame.

Nowadays Milwaukee is in the NL Central, and 87 wins is often good enough for at least a wild card. Of course, this year's team can set its sights much higher. Even after their winning streak was snapped Sunday, the Brewers are 33 games over .500. They need to go just 19-20 the rest of the way to set a franchise record with 97 victories.

Craig Counsell has become more than chilly about the Cubs looking up at his former team in the standings ... and apparently, George Webb burgers.

The Milwaukee Brewers have been the talk of baseball recently because of their 14-game winning streak. That run also gives us a chance to appreciate a particularly unusual big league season — the Brewers’ super streaky run through 1987.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/brewers as Brewers Injury Revealed: When Standout Can Return To Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Brewers recently lost 26-year-old reliever DL Hall to an oblique injury.

Improbably, the Brewers are back in first place, confounding skeptics and offering a blueprint for success on a shoestring budget.

The National League’s two contenders without a title in their franchise history may again find it hard to succeed in October.