With their playoff future at stake, the Brewers needed Dave Bush to come through in a way that not even CC Sabathia could just two days earlier.

Bush, as he's done for much of the season, came through.

With 43,992 fans cheering every pitch, Bush got off to a strong start, striking out the first two batters and snaring Chase Utley's come-backer for a quick inning. A couple of times in the inning, Bush stepped off the mound to clear his head.

"That was thrilling," Bush said. "Being able to start with two strikeouts and just hearing the crowd, that was a great experience. I just had to step back, take a couple of deep breaths and keep my mind focused on what I was trying to do and not get caught up in the situation."

The right-hander scattered five hits over 5 1/3 innings, allowing a run with no walks and three strikeouts in the Brewers 4-1 victory over Philadelphia in Game 3 of the National League Division Series Saturday at Miller Park.

He pounded the strike zone with his fastball, working both sides of the plate and using his curveball to keep the Phillies' lineup off-balance. Of his 70 pitches, 55 were strikes.

"He was down in the zone," catcher Jason Kendall said. "When he's keeping the ball down and working both sides of the plate, he's got such a good fastball that it makes anything outside look that much better."

With a man on and Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard due up, interim manager Dale Sveum summoned left-hander Mitch Stetter from the bullpen, letting Bush leave to a standing ovation.

"The game shrunk to, at that point, 3 2/3 innings left in the game and we had a very fresh bullpen," Sveum said.

It was another unlikely day for Bush, whose entire season has been a roller coaster ride of strange happenings. He bounced from the starting rotation, to the minors, back to the big-league rotation, into a rare platoon, to the bullpen and back into the rotation.

All along, the 29-year-old right-hander took everything in stride.

"It was an up-and-down year, for sure," Bush said. "The main thing for me (has been) just maintaining confidence in what I can do out on the mound and knowing, if I stay patient with myself and give it a little bit of time, it was going to come around."

His 9-10 record during the regular season doesn't begin to tell the story. Bush started slow out of the gate, going 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in his first four starts - a performance that brought a demotion to Class AAA Nashville.

He didn't spent much time with the Sounds, making one start before he was recalled to replace Yovani Gallardo. He rejoined the Brewers and still struggled in six May outings but finally got into a groove in June, going 3-3 with a 3.65 ERA.

Things really started to get weird, though, in July. After Sabathia joined the team and Jeff Suppan returned from the disabled list, then-manager Ned Yost was trying to figure out how to fit six pitchers into five rotation slots.

Against common logic, Yost tried using Bush in a platoon with fellow righty Seth McClung. Neither player was thrilled with the plan, which would have Bush start games at Miller Park and McClung on the road, but both agreed to it in order to help the team.

At the time, Bush was at his best of the season. In nine previous starts, he went 4-3 with a 2.70 ERA and had struck out a career-high 13 against Colorado in July 10. The inconsistent schedule wasn't favorable to Bush, a creature of habit and routine.

"The easiest thing is just to be on a schedule," Bush said. "I think that was the hardest thing for both of us, not being able to completely prepare for either role, trying to be ready for both and not being fully ready for either one. I definitely had no problem pitching out of the bullpen as much as being stuck in the middle."

Once he returned to the rotation full-time, Bush flourished. In August, he went 4-0 with a 2.12 ERA while striking out 20 and walking just eight.

Sveum said Bush earned the Game 3 over postseason veteran - and Game 4 starter Jeff Suppan -- because of his consistency down the stretch. He was 7-3 with a 3.23 ERA in 17 starts and a relief appearance. He called Bush the team's second-best pitcher as the Brewers chased the Wild Card during the season's final two weeks.

"Besides CC, over the last two or three months, since the All Star break, Bush has been our second best pitcher," Sveum said. "He's really thrown the heck out of the ball for quite a while now and kept us in every ball game he's pitched in."

Bush credits his success, in large part, to Kendall. The veteran catcher was signed as a free agent prior to the season and has drawn the accolades of the Brewers' pitching staff for his dedication to game preparation and the way he calls a game.

"Sometimes in the past I've had catchers that weren't necessarily as focused as I would have liked them to be," Bush said. "Jason is as prepared as we are as pitchers, he sits down and goes through scouting reports.

"When I go out there I know that even if we're not agreeing on a pitch, he's calling it with a reason and there's something he sees. If I don't, we'll talk about it. I have confidence he's as prepared as I am when we go out there."

Bush's first postseason start brought a crazy season full-circle and added a twist of irony. As a child, Bush grew up rooting for the Phillies in Devon, Penn. He remembers what it felt like after the Phillies lost to Toronto in the 1993 World Series.

"I didn't get to go to the playoffs," Bush said. "But I do remember being heartbroken at the end of the World Series."