Next game: NL Division Series Game Three
Saturday, October 4 at Philadelphia
Brewers Gameday with the Jockey Pregame Show at 4:55 p.m. and Brewers Extra Innings after the game on Newsradio 620 WTMJ, a live blog here and postgame coverage on Live at 10 on TODAY'S TMJ4

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- It's now up to Dave Bush.

Bush will start for Milwaukee in Game 3 of its series against the Phillies on Saturday at Miller Park, looking to prolong the Brewers' season. Milwaukee is down 2-0 in the best-of-five NL division series.

"Besides CC (Sabathia), over the last two or three months, Bush has been our second-best pitcher," manager Dale Sveum said before the Brewers lost to the Phillies 5-2 Thursday. "He's really thrown the heck out of the ball for quite a while now and kept us in every game. He's pitching with a lot of confidence."

He pitched three shutout innings in relief in his previous appearance last Friday against the Cubs. He'll be making his first postseason start against the team he rooted for as a kid. Bush went to Conestoga High School in suburban Philadelphia.

"Once I get on the field, it won't matter," he said. "It's been fun. I enjoy coming here and pitching. My friends and family get a chance to see me in person, which they don't get very often. But as far as actually playing against a team I rooted for, once I get on the field it makes no difference at all to me."

JOLLY CHOLLY: Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has endured quite a bit of criticism from fans and some media since replacing Larry Bowa after the 2004 season. But players love playing for the folksy skipper.

"The most important thing that he brings to the table is the fact that no matter how big the game or the situation, you're going to get the same guy," left fielder Pat Burrell said before Game 2 against Milwaukee on Thursday. "There's frustration and there's excitement at times for different things, but over the long haul, you're going to get a pretty steady guy. He seems to keep a pretty even keel."

It's taken two straight NL East titles for Manuel to finally get some appreciation from the notoriously tough Philly fans. Last weekend, fans chanted his name after he was ejected from a game. After the Phillies clinched the division on the next-to-last day of the season, the crowd that stayed around for a lengthy postgame celebration didn't want to leave until Manuel addressed them like many players did on the field. They screamed, "We want Charlie!" until he came out from his office.

Manuel, not known for his eloquence, grabbed the microphone, thanked fans for their support and promised the Phillies would do better than last year's first-round sweep against Colorado. "Believe me, we're gonna go further than last year," he said. "We want to win a World Series!"

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)