Milwaukee ? Lyle Overbay has turned around the question.

When the Brewers sent All-Star slugger Richie Sexson and two others to Arizona last winter for a slew of players that included Overbay, many Milwaukee fans were left wondering, “Lyle Who?”

Six weeks into the season, Overbay’s play has elicited another contemplation in Brew Town, a rhetorical “Richie Who?”

Overbay hasn’t replaced Sexson’s power or prestige, but the new first baseman quickly has become a favorite of fans who were angry when the perennially losing Brewers cut payroll again last winter.

“I just want us to get more wins, and people will figure out that this was a good trade,” he said.

Thanks to a 17-game hitting streak, Overbay is batting .369 and leads the majors with 21 doubles, 27 extra-base hits and 38 RBIs.

Sexson, meanwhile, has been on the disabled list since April 29 because of a partially dislocated left shoulder.

Overbay is hitting .477 (31-for-65) with 14 doubles, three home runs and 24 RBIs during his streak, the longest by a Brewers batter in 12 years.

With Overbay leading the way, the Brewers, with the lowest payroll in baseball, are off to a 19-18 start. It took the Brewers 14 more games last year to get their 19th win.

Milwaukee's Lyle Overbay hits a two-run double against Montreal on Wednesday in Milwaukee. Coming to the Brewers from Arizona in a deal for All-Star Richie Sexson, Overbay is batting .369 and leads the majors in doubles and RBIs.

“Obviously, it will be tough to keep this up for the whole season,” teammate Geoff Jenkins said. “But he’s showing that when he swings the bat like he can, he can carry the ballclub.”

Overbay is bound to cool off, but right now he’s on pace to chase two of the longest-standing marks in baseball.

At this rate, Overbay would hit 91 doubles — the major-league record is 67 by Earl Webb of the Boston Red Sox in 1931. And he’s on pace to drive in 166 runs, which would challenge the NL record for left-handed hitters set by Philadelphia’s Chuck Klein, who drove in 170 runs in 1930.

Overbay has been exactly what Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin anticipated when he made the trade: a gap-to-gap doubles hitter and a slick fielder in the mold of John Olerud.

He is quickly becoming the best part of the cost-cutting deal that also brought starters Chad Moeller, Craig Counsell, Junior Spivey and Chris Capuano, filling five holes on the roster.

The Brewers were intrigued by Overbay, a career .342 minor-league hitter who struggled to a .277 batting average last year and was brushed aside by the Diamondbacks, who sent him to Triple A-Tucson in July.

“Numbers don’t lie,” Brewers manager Ned Yost said, figuring that if Overbay could string together five straight stellar seasons in the minors, he’d also shine in the majors if given the chance.

Melvin put Overbay’s mind at ease immediately.

“I told him, ‘Don’t try to replace Richie Sexson. You’re not going to. That’s why we got six players,'” Melvin said. “I told him, ‘Just go out there and be yourself. We don’t think you’re going to hit 40 homers. We see a hitter that’s going to use the whole field. Your track record was good in the minor leagues. Go out and relax, have a good time.'”

Overbay made an immediate impression on Melvin by agreeing without hesitation to wear Sexson’s No. 11.

“I wore 11 in high school,” Overbay said, “and I figured if they weren’t going to retire his number, I would use it.”

Melvin thinks Overbay eventually could be more of a power hitter by getting better lift out of his line-drive swing, but he’s not going to push the issue.

“I wouldn’t want to sacrifice what he does now for us for a few more home runs,” Melvin said.