Texas Rangers at Milwaukee Brewers

MILWAUKEE – With less than a month of the regular season remaining, and a potentially pivotal stretch against the Cubs looming, the Brewers are right where they want to be. Just don’t suggest that to the two-time defending National League Manager of the Year, because Pat Murphy is pulling every string he can think of to keep his players in the mindset that they are playing for their lives. A fourth consecutive division title? The No. 1 seed in the National League for the second straight season? One hundred victories for the first time in franchise history? All are there for the taking over the next four weeks. But Murphy doesn’t want to hear about any of it. “This is a really young team,” he said. “You can’t divide their attention on things like that.” They kept plugging away Friday, when William Contreras drove in three runs and Logan Henderson, Milwaukee’s Mr. Reliable, matched his season and career highs by pitching seven innings of a 6-1 win over the Rangers at American Family Field, pushing the Brewers 33 games over .500 and eight games ahead of the Cubs in the NL Central standings. Those are season highs on both counts, even if Murphy doesn’t want to hear it. He’s also not ready to talk about the Brewers and Cubs playing seven games over a 10-day stretch beginning Monday, or that the Brewers appear intent on making it so they can’t be caught by their Interstate 94 rivals. The Brewers have won nine of their last 12 games and are a Major League-best 84-51 – three games clear of the Dodgers and 3 1/2 games ahead of the American League-leading Rays with 27 games to go. But that’s for fans and pundits to follow. Murphy would rather his players avoid a scourge he mentions frequently these days: “divided attention.” “Guys, I still say it. You guys laugh at me, but we’re not in the postseason,” Murphy said. “When we get in the postseason, then we can plot: ‘OK, what’s next? Well, let’s get a better seed if we can.’ … It sounds simple. It sounds cliche. But that’s mental toughness, to stay in the now. “How do we stay in the now? It’s tough for me, and I’m supposed to be good at it. So can you imagine how \[it sounds\