Don’t forget about the Brewers in the National League

We’ve focused a lot on the divisional standings with the Dodgers still chasing the Giants, but there’s more to it than that across the National League.

For one, the Brewers have slowly but surely crept up, with an eight-game lead in the NL Central that is the second-largest divisional lead in the majors, behind only the White Sox. Milwaukee is 32-14 since June 22, the best record in baseball during that time.

With another win on Sunday, the Brewers hold a 72-47 record that is just a half-game behind of the Dodgers for second-best record in the majors. While that might not matter at least for the divisional series, at the very least Milwaukee has made it a three-team race for the best record in the NL.

The Dodgers on Saturday picked up a game in the National League West, the first time they gained at all in the division since July 28. Sunday was another day of the Giants and Dodgers each achieving the same result, with San Francisco and Los Angeles both winning. The Dodgers end a 5-1 week at four games back in the division, the same as they started the week.

“We can’t worry about the Giants. We’ve got to worry about ourselves,” Max Muncy said Sunday night. “We just have to go out there and play good games. At the end of the season, it’s going to be where it’s going to be, but we can’t worry about other games.”

For Los Angeles, while making strides in the division has proven difficult, they have built a cushion in making the postseason, at least as a wild card team.

The Padres lost four straight games before getting now-outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. back in a win over Arizona on Sunday, falling to six games back of the Dodgers. Though San Diego remains in playoff position as the second wild card team, their lead over the Reds is down to just 2½ games.

Upcoming schedule

• Dodgers: vs. Pirates, vs. Mets
• Giants: vs. Mets, at A’s
• Padres: at Rockies, vs. Phillies
• Brewers: at Cardinals, vs. Nationals
• Reds: vs. Cubs, vs. Marlins
• Cardinals: vs. Brewers, vs. Pirates
• Phillies: at D-backs, at Padres
• Mets: at Giants, at Dodgers