Brewers capture NL Central for second consecutive season: Milwaukee becomes first MLB team to secure playoff berth
The Milwaukee Brewers are once again the NL Central champions. On Wednesday, the Brewers clinched their second consecutive division title and third in the last four years when the Cubs lost to the A’s. The Brewers are the first team to clinch a postseason berth this season.
The division title came after an offseason that featured plenty of losingLongtime head baseball operations executive David Stearns left to join the Mets, longtime manager Craig Counsell left to join the NL Central rival Cubs, and ace Corbin Burnes was traded to the Orioles. Despite this, Milwaukee is on track to post their best record since 2021, and their fourth-best since 2012.
Of course, winning the NL Central has been a given for weeks. The Brewers moved into first place all by themselves on May 9 and have held a lead of at least five games since July 20, and at least an eight-game lead since August 14. According to FanGraphs, Milwaukee’s division title odds have been 75% or better since late July. This wasn’t a huge division race.
In somewhat of a reversal from previous years, the Brewers this season have been led by a potent offense that ranks fourth in baseball in runs scored per game. The emergence of Jackson Chourio and Joey Ortiz and the continued excellence of Willy Adames and William Contreras have helped the Brewers recover from the loss of Christian Yelich due to season-ending back surgery.
Milwaukee is giving up the fourth-fewest runs per game despite using 17 different starting pitchers, the most in baseball, and All-Star closer Devin Williams isn’t due back from the injured list until late July. The Brewers also lost rookie Robert Gasser and veteran Wade Miley to elbow surgery earlier this season. It has taken a village on the mound, and they’ve done well.
With the NL Central title secured, the Brewers will now try to finish with one of the two best records in the National League and earn a Wild Card Series bye. Entering play on Wednesday, the Brewers were two games behind the Phillies for the NL’s best record and four games behind the Dodgers for the NL’s No. 2 seed.
