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Are the Milwaukee Brewers better than ESPN’s Jeff Passan said they were? Passan turned heads during the All-Star break when he said on the Wilde and Tausch show

Freddy Peralta won his seventh straight start, Isaac Collins and Joey Ortiz homered, and the Milwaukee Brewers held off the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-7 on Saturday night to extend their win streak to a season-best nine.

The Brewers rank seventh in MLB in runs scored. They rank third in MLB in rotation ERA. They rank 10th in MLB in Defensive Efficiency Rating, or the percentage of balls in play that the defense converts into outs. They lead the majors in base-running runs above average, according to FanGraphs.

Andrew Vaughn’s career resurgence coincides with the ascension of the hottest team in baseball. The 27-year-old former Cal star drove in two more runs Saturday as the Milwaukee Brewers ran their win streak to a season-best nine games with an 8-7 road victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Milwaukee Brewers have nearly the same record as the high-spending Dodgers and might be an underdog worth rooting for amid baseball's competitive balance wars.

The Brewers occupy an interesting space as a small-market franchise enjoying consistent success, especially as an MLB labor stoppage looms.