The Brewers may not have entirely given it away, but they certainly opened the door and let the Cardinals walk in. On June 30 they had a record of 57-44 and had a 4 game lead in the division. Yes, the Cardinals got hot, but the Brewers lost 15 of 23 to fall 6 games behind.
The Brewers record now is 57-43, almost identical to 2 years ago when it was thought that at least making the playoffs was a near certainty. Hopefully this team can avoid the fate of that one.