A rock on and off the field, Travis Shaw comes through again when Brewers needed it most

As he has done after every home game for the past few months, Travis Shaw dressed quickly in the home clubhouse at Miller Park so he could get to the hospital to visit newborn daughter Ryann, still recovering from a serious heart condition.

This time, he had a pretty good story to whisper to her.

We won’t know for a few more days if Shaw truly saved the Milwaukee Brewers’ season on Saturday afternoon but it sure seemed like it. His two-run homer off previously perfect Chicago closer Wade Davis gave the Brewers a dramatic 4-3 victory and avoided the cruel fate of a third consecutive 10-inning loss to the Cubs.

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It’s still an uphill fight for the Brewers to salvage a wild-card playoff berth – Chicago remained in great shape to win the NL Central – but yet another crushing loss would have left the club in dire straits.

“If this hasn’t been the best baseball series you’ve seen in a long time, you’ve seen some pretty good baseball,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “This is as exciting as it gets.”

It has been some season for the surprising Brewers, and Shaw has had a lot to do with it. Manning the cleanup spot in the lineup on a daily basis, he has been the team's offensive MVP, batting .276 with 31 home runs and 99 runs batted in – one shy of his preseason goal.

The fact that he has kept his focus on the field has been nothing short of remarkable, considering that Ryann and her fight for life have never been completely off his mind. The baseball diamond has been his refuge, his place to put that heart-wrenching situation off to the side for a few hours.

“Travis has just been a rock through this whole thing, he really has,” Counsell said. “He’s going through more than we know. We don’t talk about it a lot, to respect what he’s going through. But he’s been able to put together a wonderful season under very difficult circumstances.”

The stoic Shaw is understated and soft-spoken in the clubhouse, to the point that sometimes you don’t realize he’s there. Knowing what he is dealing with off the field, his teammates have given him room to breathe but have nothing bit respect for the focus he has shown once the first pitch is thrown.

“First and foremost, I don’t know how he’s been able to keep his head on straight and stay focused, with everything he’s been dealing with at home,” said Ryan Braun, who doubled ahead of Shaw’s game-winning homer.

“It’s pretty remarkable, the success he has had. Beyond that, he’s been far better on the field than we could have possibly hoped for. He’s been incredible on both sides of the ball.

“To know what he’s dealing with personally, it’s pretty amazing and remarkable that he has been able to come out and be as successful and consistent as he has been.”

Shaw, acquired over the offseason from Boston in one of the greatest steals in recent trade history, shrugs off the accolades and platitudes in customary fashion. He has been given an entirely new perspective on both life and baseball, which in an unexpected way has been enlightening.

That doesn’t mean winning is any less fun, however, and this one felt as good as it gets after the previous excruciating losses.

“It just feels good to help the team win and come out on the right side of things after a couple of tough days,” Shaw said. “The pitching has been there the whole second half. Offensively, we’ve let some slip away. Any time our offense can pick up our pitching, it’s a good thing.

“We’ve bounced back before. With a week left in the season and everything on the line, we found a way to do it again. Each day is like a one-game playoff for us. We all know that.”

With that, Shaw was off to join wife Lindy at the hospital and take turns holding the most precious thing in their lives.

“There’s a lot going on still, outside the field,” said Shaw, who has no idea when Ryann might be allowed to leave the hospital. “It’s a nice getaway to come here every day. It’s been a very stressful time.”