The best team in baseball is the first team to clinch a postseason berth. On Saturday, the Milwaukee Brewers secured their spot in the playoffs with the New York Mets’ 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers (BOX SCORE).
For now, the Brewers have merely assured themselves of being no worse than the third wild card team. Obviously they have much bigger plans. At 90-58, the Brewers have a six-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, and will soon clinch their third straight division title.
It’s easy to forget now, but the Brewers started this season 0-4, and they were 25-28 on May 24. They are 65-30 since then, far and away the best record in baseball, and they’ve done it by being incredibly well-rounded. The Brewers are averaging the second-most runs scored per game while allowing the fourth-fewest runs per game this year.
The franchise record is 96 wins (2011 and 2018) and the Brewers need to win seven of their final 14 games to top that. Once they clinch the division and a Wild Card Series bye, though, the Brewers figure to take their foot off the gas and rest players for the postseason, and audition others for October roles. There will no longer be the need to chase every last win.
As successful as they’ve been in recent years — Milwaukee has baseball’s fifth-best record since 2018 — the Brewers have not won a postseason series since the 2018 NLDS. They were eliminated in the NLDS in 2021 and in the wild card round in 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2024. (The Brewers missed the postseason in 2022.)
Another quick exit this postseason would be monumentally disappointing if not render this season a failure. At some point, you do have to validate your regular-season success with postseason success, and the Brewers are reaching that point given how well things have gone in 2025 after the way the 2018-24 seasons played out.
With the Brewers in the tournament, the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies are likely the next team to clinch a postseason berth. That should happen within the next few days.