Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks will miss the rest of the season due to a torn sheath tendon in his left wrist.

Weeks, who is also the team's leadoff batter, will undergo surgery to repair the injury, which occurred when he swung at a pitch Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, and will need four to six months to recover.

"It's very unfortunate for the team and for Rickie," general manager Doug Melvin said from St. Louis, where the Brewers finished a three-game series on Monday night.

"Rickie has really turned that corner and was becoming the kind of player that we always felt he would become. It's going to be a great loss. He does so many things for your club, from just the energy level to start the ballgame.

"I always look forward to our ballgames at night to having Rickie leading off the game. Something exciting could happen right at the start of the game, whether it's a line drive home run or a base hit and a stolen base. Something could happen.

"We're going to miss his defense and his baserunning. He's one of our best baserunners. He's a guy that can score from first on that ball in the gap. We've got our work cut out for us replacing him."

Veteran Craig Counsell started at second base on Monday and the Brewers were prepared to promote Hernan Iribarren from Class AAA Nashville to play as a backup.

Melvin said Weeks' injury is similar to the one the second baseman suffered in his right wrist late in the 2006 season. Weeks has remarkable bat speed, even by major-league standards, and apparently that puts torque pressure on his wrists.

After the last episode, which occurred in August, Weeks seemed to be bothered by the injury into the following season. The Brewers hope that he'll have time to fully recover by spring training.

Weeks was hitting .272 with nine homers and 24 RBI and a .517 slugging percentage. In a recent interview at Miller Park, he talked about his experience dealing with injuries as it related to his younger brother, Jemile, who was sidelined at time during spring training due to a hip injury.

"He's like me -- he goes crazy when he can't play," Weeks said. "I just told him that he had to hang in there and keep doing his work. You can't rush things, but it's really hard when you can't play. It's the toughest thing to do, knowing that you can't go out there and battle and help your teammates."

When it counts: After yet another dramatic Ryan Braun home run, pitcher Dave Bush summed up the young slugger pretty accurately:

"He's got a flair for the dramatic, that's for sure," Bush said.

Bush's commentary could probably be applied to the entire team, which has taken control of first place in the National League Central thanks in large part to their ability to come through in the clutch.

The Brewers have rallied to win in 13 of their 23 games this season, tying them with the Phillies in Yankees for the most comeback victories in the majors. Last week, Milwaukee came from behind in all three games of a sweep of the Florida Marlins.

It's an extension of last season, when the Brewers tied New York and Philadelphia atop the majors with a .622 winning percentage in one-run games and won 26 games in their final at-bat.

So where is this clutch nature coming from? Many will point to the replacement of Ned Yost with Ken Macha as manager as a big factor. Others suggest it's veteran leaders like Jason Kendall, Mike Cameron and Craig Counsell. There's also a camp that attributes the return of Trevor Hoffman to the bullpen.

In short, though, the biggest reason the Brewers have been finding ways to win late is they've been there before.

J.J. Hardy, Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder and Corey Hart have long been considered "the kids," but all of them now have established themselves as bona fide major league players. Hardy and Weeks are in his fourth seasons in Milwaukee. Hart and Fielder are in their fourth, while Ryan Braun has thrived in the spotlight and in pressure situations during his brief career.

And before those guys started down the path that led to last year's National League Division Series, all of these players won – together – in the minor leagues.

"Anytime you have success it's a lot easier to be confident," Hardy said. "I think last year definitely helps and obviously winning in the minor league helps."

Familiar faces: Jeff Suppan's seven-inning shutout effort against St. Louis Saturday was just another stellar performance against the team he helped lead to the 2006 World Series.

In three years with the Brewers, Suppan (3-3) has five victories in six starts against St. Louis. Against the Cardinals the last two-plus years, Suppan has a 1.62 ERA. Against the rest of the league, his ERA is 5.31.

"There's no magic," Suppan said. "I think it's a matter of whatever juice you have going against a team, you use it to aid your performance."

Suppan has a history of faring well against his former teams. He's 12-3 against Pittsburgh, where he played in 2003. And, of course, Brewers fans remember him dominating Milwaukee in his career. Before signing here prior to the 2007 season, Suppan posted a 12-2 record with a 3.29 ERA in 21 games.

Braden Looper hopes for the same success tonight when he faces the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Signed as a free agent in the offseason, Looper spent the last three years with St. Louis.

John Steinmiller's Stumper of the Week: On Saturday, the Brewers beat St. Louis, 1-0, despite getting just two hits. When was the last time Milwaukee won with only two hits?

Quick hits: Former Brewer Ben Sheets will meet with Dr. James Andrews tomorrow. Sheets underwent surgery during the offseason and is looking to latch on somewhere before the end of the season. … Jason Kendall needs just one hit for 2,000 in his career. … The Brewers are 7-0-2 in series play since losing their first four this season. … With 49 homers, the Brewers are second in the National League. Philadelphia has 50. … The starting rotation has produced an MLB-best 23 quality starts. … Since April 22, the Brewers have the best record in baseball (19-5). … Milwaukee's current five-game winning streak is its longest of the season.

Injury Report: Weeks, as mentioned, will likely be headed to the disabled list after injuring his wrist Sunday at St. Louis. … Reliever David Riske has been throwing off a mound and could head to the minors for a rehab assignment in the near future. He was sent to the disabled list in early April with soreness in his right elbow. He threw one bullpen session Saturday and is scheduled for another tomorrow in Houston.

On the farm: The organization did some shuffling among players at the lower levels. Third-base prospect Taylor Green, the Brewers' Minor League Player of the Year in 2008, was sent to Class A Wisconsin after missing the beginning of the season recovering from wrist surgery. Green belted a two-run homer in his first at-bat and finished the day 4-for-5 with four RBI. Meanwhile, Cutter Dykstra was sent from the Timber Rattlers to rookie-level Helena. He was projected as a centerfielder when drafted in the second round last June, but he is being moved to second base. Dykstra, an infielder in high school, will work on his skills at extended spring training in Arizona until Helena opens its season on June 23.

This week: Tonight's makeup game with the Cardinals wraps up the first leg of a three-city road trip. The Brewers will head to Houston tonight, where they'll open a three-game set with the Astros tomorrow night. The road trip wraps up this weekend with an Interleague series in Minnesota.

Stumper answer: On September 24, 2008, the Brewers beat Pittsburgh, 4-2, with just two hits at Miller Park.

N.L. Central standings: 1, Milwaukee, 23-14; 2, Chicago, 21-15 (-1.5); 3, St. Louis, 21-16 (-2); 4, Cincinnati, 20-17 (-3); 5, Houston, 17-19 (-5.5); 6, Pittsburgh, 16-21 (-7).