Nine games remain, and the Milwaukee Brewers are close enough to the NLDS to feel it. They’ve already locked up their fourth straight NL Central title, which guarantees postseason baseball at American Family Field, but the exact start of that run is still up in the air.
At the moment, Milwaukee is at least assured of the No. 3 seed in the National League, which would send the Brewers into the first round as the host of the third Wild Card team in a best-of-three series. That’s the path they took in 2023, when they were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and again in 2024, when they fell to the New York Mets. It’s not the route they want this time around.
What Milwaukee is chasing instead is a first-round bye, and the Brewers are in position to grab one for the second straight season. They have not officially clinched it yet, but the door is open for them to get it done before the weekend is over.
Entering play on September 18, the Brewers sit at 95-58 and hold a six-game lead over the Atlanta Braves, who are 89-64. The two clubs split their season series, 3-3, and with three games left for each team against divisional opponents, neither side has locked up the tiebreaker. For now, that means Milwaukee likely needs to finish with a better record than Atlanta to secure the bye.
That puts the Brewers’ magic number at four. Any combination of Milwaukee wins and Atlanta losses totaling four gets Pat Murphy’s club into the NLDS. In other words, the Brewers could have the bye wrapped up as early as Saturday night.
The schedule sets up the race neatly. Milwaukee opens a three-game series in Baltimore tonight, while Atlanta starts a three-game set against the Houston Astros.
Houston is one game ahead of the Texas Rangers in the AL West, so there’s still plenty on the line there. The Orioles also have something to play for, sitting three games back in the American League Wild Card chase.
Dustin May and Robert Gasser are lined up to start the first two games for the Brewers in Baltimore, and the club has not yet named a starter for Sunday’s finale, which will be the Sunday Night Baseball game on NBC. Atlanta will counter in Houston with Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes and Martin Pérez.
Even if the Brewers don’t clinch this weekend, the math still favors them heavily. If Milwaukee wins at least one game in each of its final three series, it would finish no worse than 98-64. From there, the Braves would need to win their final nine games just to pull even.
So the message for Milwaukee is simple: keep winning, and the rest should sort itself out.
In Other News...
Christian Yelich Keeps Giving Brewers Fans Another Reason To Love Him
Christian Yelich keeps finding ways to matter to the Brewers beyond what he does in the batters box. This week, he was named Milwaukees nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for the second time in four seasons, a recognition that goes to players whose work in the community reflects the legacy of Clemente and his lifelong commitment to service.
Yelichs resume off the field has only deepened his standing with fans in Milwaukee, where he has backed military veterans, youth baseball and programs focused on childrens health and education. For a player already central to the Brewers identity, it is another reminder that his influence around the organization stretches well beyond the lineup card. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Murphy Sends A Clear Message With Brewers Lineup Choice
The Brewers are back in action this afternoon for the second game of their series against the Orioles, and Pat Murphys lineup gives a pretty clear read on where his priorities are in the middle of a long season. With left-hander Robert Gasser on the mound for Milwaukee and Trevor Rogers set to start for Baltimore, the Brewers are leaning into a different look than the one fans might expect, with several regulars getting the day off.
It is the kind of move that can say plenty without anyone needing to explain it, especially with first pitch set for 3:05 p.m. and the game available on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620 and the Brewers Radio Network. For a club trying to balance the grind of the schedule with the demands of staying fresh, Murphys lineup choice suggests there is a bigger picture in mind, even if the immediate question is how the Brewers will piece together this one. [Read more 🡒]
Christian Yelich Is At The Center Of A Huge Brewers Debate
Christian Yelich has been at the heart of the Brewers rise for nearly a decade now, ever since Milwaukee landed him from Miami in a four-player trade on Jan. 25, 2018. The move changed the shape of the franchise almost immediately. Yelich became one of the teams defining players, won the National League MVP award in 2018, and helped lead Milwaukee to the playoffs eight times in nine seasons, giving the Brewers a steady centerpiece through a long stretch of contention.
Even with all that production, the conversation around Yelich is no longer just about what he has done in the past. Injuries have interrupted parts of his run, and that has made his place in the Brewers present and future a more complicated debate than it once seemed. For a team that has leaned on him so heavily, the question is how much more he can still provide, and how Milwaukee chooses to weigh the star power, the durability concerns and everything he has already meant to the organization. [Read more 🡒]