Brewers Clinch Playoff Spot, Eliminate Cubs and Mets

With a 9-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night (Sept. 25), the Milwaukee Brewers clinched a postseason spot, earning their second consecutive playoff berth and eliminating the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets in the process.

It’s a far different outcome than many expected in the NL Central as recently as Sept. 5, when the Brewers were five games behind the Cubs for the second National League wild card spot and just three games over .500. But despite suffering a huge blow with the loss of Christian Yelich after the slugger fractured his kneecap on Sept. 10, the team has won 17 of its last 19 games, while the Cubs imploded in spectacular fashion, losing eight games in a row — including a key four-game series against the first-place St. Louis Cardinals.

“What we just accomplished is really against all odds,” Ryan Braun said after the game. “Incredibly difficult to do what we just did. I think we’re 17-2 in our last 19 games. We’ve had so many guys contribute, so many special moments. We obviously enjoyed playing this month.”

The elimination of the Cubs means that Chicago will miss out on the playoffs for the first time since 2014, putting an end to the most successful era in team history and leaving manager Joe Maddon’s future with the team in question.

“We’re not used to this,” Maddon said. “I’m not used to this, personally, to have meaningless games on our behalf. … It’s a really non-fun way to complete a season.”

Cubs ace Jon Lester praised Maddon’s tenure with the team after the Cubs were eliminated, saying, “I can’t say enough positives about what Joe has done, flat out for this organization. Up until this year we led MLB in wins. That’s a testament to him. We broke a 108-year curse. No matter what happens, if he continues here, it’s gravy. If he doesn’t, he should be revered as a legend in this town for a long, long time.”

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Bonnie Stiernberg

Bonnie Stiernberg is InsideHook’s Managing Editor. She was Music Editor at Paste Magazine for seven years, and she has written about music and pop culture for Rolling Stone, Glamour, Billboard, Vice and more.