Yelich sums up the twists, turns and countless story lines that go into a single season
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich sums up the twists, turns and countless story lines that go into a single baseball season.
With the Milwaukee Brewers locking up the National League Central title over the weekend, it clinched a trip to the division series, which also happened to offer some major clarity on the Brewers’ playoff schedule.
What it also means is that they won’t know their opponent until at least three days after the season. But the chance that it’s the Chicago Cubs is really quite strong. The Brewers and Cubs have never met in the postseason.
Here’s the Brewers’ current playoff scenario:
When will the Brewers begin postseason games?
The Brewers will host the first two games of the National League Division Series on Oct. 4 and Oct. 6.
They won’t know their opponent until the end of the wild-card series. If the Brewers keep the No. 1 overall seed, it will come down to the winner of the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, which will absolutely feature the Cubs and probably the San Diego Padres.
Here’s the Brewers’ NLDS schedule:
- NLDS Game 1 (at American Family Field): Oct. 4
- NLDS Game 2 (at American Family Field): Oct. 6
- NLDS Game 3 (on the road): Oct. 8
- NLDS Game 4 if necessary (on the road): Oct. 9
- NLDS Game 5 if necessary (at American Family Field): Oct. 11
Does that mean the Brewers are on track to face the Cubs in the postseason?
The Brewers haven’t secured the No. 1 overall seed in the National League, but they’re close. And if they do, they’ll face the winner of a wild-card series (No. 4 vs. No. 5 seeds) that will definitely feature the Cubs. Though we can’t yet say for certain that the Padres will be the other team, nor that the wild-card games will be played at Wrigley Field, those likelihoods are well past 90%.
The winner of the best-of-three series will travel to Milwaukee for the NLDS.
If the Brewers fall to the No. 2 seed, they will face the winner of the other series between the host Los Angeles Dodgers and any one of the teams fighting for the last spot, most likely the Cincinnati Reds or New York Mets.
What’s the Brewers’ magic number to get home-field advantage throughout the playoffs?
The Brewers have the tiebreaker over the Philadelphia Phillies and a three-game lead for the No. 1 overall seed. The magic number for the top seed is three.
Because Milwaukee has already secured a top-two record in the National League and a division title, it’s guaranteed a first-round bye whether or not it gets the No. 1 seed.
The Brewers could secure a No. 1 seed as early as Tuesday, Sept. 23.
How many games are left in the Brewers season?
The Brewers have six games left in the season.
- Sept. 22-24: at San Diego Padres (three games)
- Sept. 26-28: vs. Cincinnati Reds (three games)
What else will the Brewers be trying to accomplish in the final six games?
In addition to locking up the No. 1 seed, the Brewers will tie a franchise record for victories with one more win and set the record with two in their final six games.
For the Brewers to win 100 games, they would need to win five of six. They are the only team in Major League Baseball this season still capable of reaching that threshold.
The Reds will be interesting as a foe in the final three games. If the season ended before the final week of the regular season began, they’d be in the playoffs, owning a tiebreaker against the Mets. They’ll need wins against Milwaukee to scratch into the playoffs.
When and where can fans buy Brewers playoff tickets?
Starting at 10 a.m. CT Tuesday, Sept. 23, fans can buy single-game playoff tickets online.
Buy Brewers playoff tickets on StubHub
If the season ended today, the National League seeds would be …
- Milwaukee Brewers (No. 1 seed, first-round bye), 95-61
- Philadelphia Phillies (No. 2 seed, first-round bye), 92-64
- Los Angeles Dodgers (No. 3 seed), 88-68, vs. Cincinnati Reds (No. 6 seed), 80-76
- Chicago Cubs (No. 4 seed), 88-67, vs. San Diego Padres (No. 5 seed), 85-71
How does the Brewers’ record compare to the Toronto Blue Jays?
The Brewers, at 95-61, are five games better than the American League’s best team, the Blue Jays, at 90-66.
(This story was updated with new information.)
