In baseball, perspective can change in just a couple of days.

After the Brewers got knocked around in an 11-4 loss at Philadelphia Tuesday, Ryan Braun told reporters that, in a nutshell, the Brewers weren't playing very well.

"They're a good team," Braun told the local paper. "They're very well-rounded. They have great starting pitching, a great bullpen. They swing the bats well, they play good defense.

"Right now, we're not doing any of those things well. You combine the fact that they're good at everything and we're good at nothing, it's not going to be a very pretty outcome."

The next day, Milwaukee turned things around with a 3-1 victory over the Phillies in Game 2 which, in turn, sparked a four-game winning streak and the Brewers' first two series victories of the season. After the fourth straight victory, a 9-8, 11-inning job at Houston, Braun was singing a much different tune.

"We're right back to where we need to be. We dealt with some adversity early in the year, but we're playing really well right now," he said. "We're headed in the right direction as a team."

Braun is a big reason for the turnaround. After a slow start, Braun has been on a tear and leads the team with a .338 average and 13 RBI. On the road trip, Braun hit .457 with four homers and 11 RBI. The day of his original remarks, Braun went 5-for-5 with two home runs and he had four hits Friday night against Houston.

"I'm feeling good, seeing the ball well and not trying to do too much," Braun told Anthony Witrado of the Journal Sentinel on Saturday. "I knew that eventually I'd go on some type of streak like this."

Quality starters: The starting rotation is showing signs of settling down. Starters are 5-3 in the last 10 games and have five consecutive quality starts, including Yovani Gallardo's complete-game victory Friday and Dave Bush's near no-hitter on Thursday.

Fielder feels fine: Prince Fielder is starting to get into a groove. After hitting just one home run in the first 15 games, he hit a pair Saturday night at Houston. His numbers are still way off the pace he set the previous two seasons, when he hit a combined 84 home runs. He strung together a four-game hitting streak before going 0-for-3 with a pair of walks Sunday. On the season, he's hitting .222 (14-for-63) with three homers and 14 RBI.

Taste of the big show: A handful of Brewers hopefuls got their first taste of the big-league life Friday night when Class A Wisconsin hosted Peoria in the "Border Battle" at Miller Park.

The Timber Rattlers, in their first season as the Brewers' low-level affiliate, notched a 5-3 Midwest League victory over Peoria, a Chicago Cubs affiliate.

Much of the attention went to second baseman Brett Lawrie and centerfielder Cutter Dykstra – the Brewers' top two picks in last year's draft – but it was Brock Kjeldgaard, a 34th-round choice in 2005 that was a pitcher up until this season, that provided the heroics for the 17,881 fans on hand.

With his team down, 3-2, in the fifth, Kjeldgaard belted a major-league home run into the right field bleachers to give Wisconsin a 4-3 lead. He contributed to the Timber Rattlers' final run when he drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning.

Hoffman's ready to go: Closer Trevor Hoffman is ready to get to work. The veteran right-hander was activated from the disabled list Sunday, but didn't see any action in the Brewers' 3-2 loss at Houston. He made two minor-league starts last week with Class AAA Nashville, allowing two runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts in two innings of work. To make room for Hoffman on the active roster, the team optioned left-hander R.J. Swindle to Nashville.

Stolen from the game notes: The Brewers' loss Sunday snapped a season-high four-game winning streak. … During their first 10 National League seasons, the Brewers went 52-89 against the Astros but are 23-12 since 2007. … Milwaukee hit .579 with runners in scoring position during the first two games in Houston and set a record Friday, going 6-for-6 with RISP. … The Brewers homered in 14 of their 18 games. … Forbes Magazine says the franchise's value increased 5 percent to $347 million from last season. Mark Attanasio paid $223 million for the team in 2005.

Injury report: David Riske is on the 15-day disabled list with soreness in his right elbow. He will undergo therapy but could end up having "Tommy John" surgery.

On the farm: Nashville went 4-3 during the last week, including a 3-0 loss to the Iowa Cubs Sunday. Third baseman Mat Gamel is showing no signs of letting up; he's batting ..403 with six home runs, 24 RBI and 11 walks. He was charged with two more errors last week and now has seven for the season in 17 games. … Class AA Huntsville leads the Southern League's North Division with a 10-7 record, and won four straight. … Class A Brevard County saw its seven-game winning streak snapped Thursday but recovered with a three-game sweep of the Tampa Yankees over the weekend.

He said it: "When we were walking in tonight, one of the guys said, 'get to the big leagues, and you won't be carrying your bag through here again.'" – Class A Wisconsin outfielder, and Brewers second-round draft pick, Cutter Dykstra on playing at Miller Park.

Leaders: Home runs – Cameron, Braun (4); Batting average – Braun (.338); RBI – Fielder (14); Strikeouts – Fielder (22). Victories – Looper, Gallardo (2); ERA – DiFelice (0.90), Looper (2.12); Strikeouts – Gallardo (23); Saves – Coffey (2).

This week: It's back home again for the Brewers, who open a three-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight at Miller Park. The Arizona Diamondbacks come to town Thursday for a four-game series. Milwaukee heads back out on the road after the weekend.

NL Central standings: 1, St. Louis, 13-6; 2, Pittsburgh, 11-7 (-1.5); 3, Cincinnati, 10-8 (-2.5); 4, Chicago, 9-8 (-3); 5, Milwaukee, 8-10 (-4.5); 6, Houston, 7-12 (-6).