MILWAUKEE -- It was a little thing that turned a big game against the Brewers on Thursday.

It happened amid the Cubs’ game-breaking, five-run rally in the sixth inning of a 10-5 Brewers loss at Miller Park, before Kyle Schwarber’s thunderous grand slam helped drop Milwaukee 7 1/2 games behind the steamrolling Cardinals in the National League Central standings and five games behind the Cubs in the chase for the NL’s second Wild Card with only 23 games to go.

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And since it happened away from the action, you might have missed it. Heck, Brewers manager Craig Counsell missed it in the moment. It was one little thing, at a time the Brewers need every little thing to go right to buck their slim mathematical odds of making the postseason.

“That sixth inning very well could have gone a different way,” Counsell said. “A little misfortune, and a huge hit by them.”

Hernan Perez, Yasmani Grandal and Cory Spangenberg all homered for the Brewers, who had just pulled into a 4-4 tie on Grandal’s two-run shot in the fifth when the Cubs started making things difficult for Matt Albers and Drew Pomeranz. Pinch-hitter David Bote reached on an infield single to open the sixth, and Ben Zobrist -- who reached base five times -- also singled for his third hit. Two batters later, Albers walked Kris Bryant to load the bases.

That prompted a call for for the left-hander Pomeranz, who had not been charged with a run in any of his previous eight appearances. He drew Anthony Rizzo, who lined a 101.7 mph sacrifice fly to right fielder Christian Yelich. As Yelich got into position, Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia was jumping up and down on second base trying to get Yelich’s attention. Zobrist had read “hit” off the bat, and was more than halfway to third. A strong throw to second base could have doubled him up and ended the inning before Bote could score.

“I was calling, ‘Second! Second,’” said Perez, who was manning third base. “Everything could have changed.”

“I heard about it,” Counsell said. “It’s an instinct play. It’s hit really hard, so [Yelich] is just focused on the catch, and the play is at home. I heard Zobrist was way off. I didn’t see it at the time, but I heard that.”

In the scant moment he had to decide, Yelich’s instinct said to throw home.

Bote scored for a 5-4 Cubs lead.

“He’s catching it and throwing it in a hurry. He thinks he has a chance if he makes a perfect throw,” Counsell said.

The inning continued to go bad for the Brewers. Willson Contreras followed with another infield hit, a dribbler up the third-base line that drew Pomeranz and catcher Grandal into each other’s way. That extended the rally for Schwarber to blast a first-pitch fastball that was above the strike zone to the last row of bleachers in the right-field second deck. His second grand slam this season at Miller Park gave the Cubs a 9-4 lead.

“That much action, they eventually cashed in on it,” Counsell said. “They put pressure on us every inning.”

The pressure is mounting on the Brewers to stay in the race. Thursday’s loss dropped their odds of making the playoffs to 5.5 percent according to Fangraphs’ calculations, but Milwaukee can change that math by winning their remaining three regular-season games against Chicago. Friday is a matchup of Zach Davies for the Brewers and Cole Hamels for the Cubs.

"You look at how all of our guys in the bullpen have been throwing -- the Cubs have changed their attack a little bit,” said Brewers starter Chase Anderson, who was out of the game after four innings, 59 pitches and two passes through the Cubs batting order. “They're swinging more than they were. Their lineup is more balanced than it's been in recent years, maybe even better than in 2016, when they won the World Series. They've got left, right, left, right; they play the matchups really well. Zobrist makes that team so much better. Just bringing his presence to the top of the lineup changes their dynamic.”

Do the Brewers have to win the next three games to have a chance?

“That's a good question, but I don't have a great answer for you,” Anderson said. “We have to win [Friday]. Then we have to win the next day. That's what the Cardinals did, and that's how they got hot. Look what we did last year; we continued to play day in and day out, and when we looked up, we were in the dance.”