Brewers Hot Streak in Record Territory

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Isaac Collins - Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers celebrate Isaac Collins' (center) walk-off home run at American Family Field in Milwaukee (Aug. 10, 2025)

The Milwaukee Brewers were already in uncharted territory almost a week ago, but they’ve kept going from there.

On Tuesday the team that already owned the best record in Major League Baseball reached another milestone: Their win over the Braves that night improved their record to 44-16 over their last 60 games, the first time in franchise history they’d done that. They’ve since built upon that with four more wins, however, so they now also have the best 61, 62, 63 and 64-game stretches in franchise history too.

Beyond franchise history, however, the Brewers are starting to make MLB history. They’re only the 33rd AL/NL team since 1901 to win at least 48 out of 64 games and the 19th team in 81 seasons since the end of World War II. As one might expect, teams that win this often over this long of a stretch generally go on to pretty good things: The list of precedents is littered with World Series winners but features just one team (the 2005 Athletics) who missed the postseason. The most recent entries, however, are a reminder that MLB’s expanded postseason makes it increasingly difficult for the best team to emerge as champion:

2022 Dodgers

To get to 111 wins in a single season a team needs to get hot and stay hot for long stretches, and one of baseball’s most recent super teams was no exception. From mid-June through late August, they had four different occasions where they were 50-14 in their last 64 games. They got there at least in part through dominant pitching, posting a 2.65 team ERA (as compared to the NL’s 4.34 mark) during one of those stretches.

In hindsight this team fits the narrative of “peaking too early.” On September 20 they were 103-44 and seemed to have a chance to chase the best record in MLB history (116 wins). They went just 8-7 in their final 15 games, however, then lost three of four to the Padres in the NLDS.

2022 Yankees

That Dodgers team, however, only narrowly edged out a rival as the hottest MLB team that season. The Yankees also had a historic run of success that year, with seven different days in late June and early July where they had won 49 out of 64 games. With their streak coming early the Yankees got off to a torrid start: On June 29 they were 56-20 overall, 13 games up in the AL East and had the best record in baseball by eight games.

It turned out they would need that big lead, however. From July 3 through the end of that season they went 41-42. They were able to right the ship in the postseason and won a five-game ALDS against Cleveland but were swept in the NLCS by the eventual World Series-winning Astros. This season in particular, where the AL and NL’s best teams failed to reach the World Series, spurred extended discussion about whether baseball’s expanded playoff format was unfair to elite teams.

2017 Dodgers

The honor of the hottest stretch this century is no contest: From June 6 through August 22 of 2017 the Dodgers went 54-10 over a 64-game stretch, going from two games back in the NL West to 21 games up. Like the 2022 team they were an elite run prevention club. During that stretch they had a 3.10 team ERA while the NL average was 4.34. They almost immediately gave back a lot of that momentum, however, with a 1-16 stretch from late August into September.

When the calendar flipped to October this Dodgers team was able to turn it back on, though. They swept the Diamondbacks in the NLDS and took the NLCS over the Cubs in five games before falling to the Astros in a seven-game World Series.

2017 Cleveland

Again in 2017, however, the Dodgers were nearly matched by another hot streak in the other league. From mid-July through the end of that season Cleveland had five separate occasions where they were 50-14 in their last 64 games. They were already the best team in the AL Central at the start of that stretch but finished the season with 102 wins, the second-best mark in franchise history, and a 17-game lead over the also playoff-bound Twins. They posted a 2.64 ERA during that stretch, stifling opposing offenses.

Even before baseball’s most recent round of postseason expansion, however, elite teams were still subject to seeing it all go up in smoke in a short playoff series. This Cleveland team took a 2-0 lead over the Yankees in the ALDS before losing the next three and being sent home early.

Here are the other teams this century to win at least 48 games in a 64-game stretch:

• 2013 Dodgers (51-13 on three occasions, reached NLCS)
• 2009 Yankees (48-16 on one occasion, won World Series)
• 2005 Athletics (48-16 on two occasions, missed postseason)
• 2004 Cardinals (49-15 on three occasions, reached World Series)
• 2004 Braves (48-16 on two occasions, lost NLDS)
• 2002 Braves (49-15 on seven occasions, lost NLDS)
• 2001 Mariners (51-13 on one occasion, tied MLB record with 116 wins, reached ALCS)
• 2001 Athletics (50-14 on one occasion, lost ALDS)