Brewers clinch playoff berth: Three reasons why they’re World Series contenders
To be clear, the Brewers have only clinched one postseason berth. They are assured that they will be no worse than the third wild-card team in the National League, although they have loftier goals. Next up is their fourth straight NL Central title and a bye in the Wild Card Series. It will be about another week before Milwaukee can secure the division title and a bye.
The Brewers have done it this season the same way they did last season, when they won a franchise-record 97 games. They are top 3 in both runs scored per game and runs allowed per game (as well as fewest runs allowed), are an above average defensive team, and have impressive depth. Milwaukee rarely puts a bad player on the field.
This is the most prosperous era in Brewers history. They have been to the postseason four straight years and eight times in the last nine years, although the Brewers are still searching for their first World Series title. They won the franchise’s only pennant in 1982, when they lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
Will this be the year the Brewers get over the hump and win their first championship? Here are three reasons why Milwaukee is a real threat to win this year’s World Series.
1. They are starting to fight for power.
The Brewers play a very fun and energetic game on offense. They are at or near the top of the league in stolen bases, sacrifice bunts, infield singles, bunts and productive outs. The Brewers will make you defend well and pay attention to details. In other words, they force you to play baseball. They force the action and it works very, very well.
All that being said, home runs are essential in the postseason. It’s really hard to build a rally around multiple hits and walks when you’re facing the other team’s best starters and relievers every night, let alone do it multiple times per game. The proof is in the numbers. In the postseason, home runs win games.
In the three-team wild card era (and even before that too), runs per game decrease in the postseason, but home runs per game increase. You just have to watch the playoffs to see it. Home runs reign in October. If you can’t put runs on the board with a single hit, you’re fighting an uphill battle. The Brewers have learned that the hard way in recent years.
Milwaukee once again ranks near the bottom of the league in home runs this season, but the tide is turning. As of the admittedly arbitrary date of August 18, the Brewers are in the top 12 in home runs, with Jackson Chourio in particular finding his power hit. They won’t hit the ball around the yard, but the Brewers at least have some power now. They are showing that they can beat you that way too.
2. They have a great 1-2 punch in the rotation.
Jacob Misiorowski is the The biggest show in baseball right now.. It’s electrifying: What will his speed be like once the adrenaline of the postseason kicks in? – and dominant in a way we haven’t seen in a long time. The best recent comparison is Jacob deGrom during his consecutive Cy Young years, although even deGrom’s peak didn’t bring him this caliber of things to the mound.
Misiorowski will start Game 1 in October. The Game 2 start appears to go to unknown Logan Henderson, who owns a 2.34 ERA with impressive numbers under the hood in 16 starts this season, and has been even better since returning from a back problem in July. Henderson has allowed more than two runs twice in 16 starts and never more than three runs.
The recent fade of Kyle Harrison means the postseason rotation behind Misiorowski and Henderson is a bit up in the air right now, but the Brewers have an excellent 1-2 punch with those two young right-handers. The October master plan is to start Misiorowski and Henderson four times in a best-of-seven series. Not many teams can match that 1-2 punch.
Keep in mind that Misiorowski worked out of the bullpen last postseason. Milwaukee used either an opener or a straight-up bullpen game in four of its nine playoff games last year. The Brewers could do something similar this year, sure, but Misiorowski and Henderson are the two high-end starters they simply didn’t have at this time last year.
3. Other top NL teams are showing cracks
National League teams currently own five of the seven best records in baseball, although the other top contenders in the National League are not as imposing as they seem on paper. The Dodgers have been playing .500 ball for over two months and have too many underperforming veterans in their lineup. There are nights when the two-time defending champions look old.
The Braves have a slew of pitching injuries and their offense has been closer to league average in recent weeks, and at times much worse than that. The Phillies, with their powerful rotation, and the Cubs, with the highest-scoring offense and best defense in baseball, could be the most dangerous teams in the National League in a short postseason series, and even they have concerns.
In a short series, any team can beat any team. Looking around the National League, the Brewers are on an upward trend at a time when most of their competitors look a bit stagnant or are moving in the wrong direction. That does not ensure victory. It could mean that the path through the National League is easier – “easier” – than it seems on paper. In October you take advantage of all the advantages you can.
