The Milwaukee Brewers head into the week Sept. 8 with a “magic number” of three to clinch a playoff berth. That means any win for the Brewers and any loss from the top team outside the playoff picture will drop that number by a digit. Once the Brewers get to three, they're officially heading to the 2025 postseason in some capacity.
Here's when it could happen and what else to know:
When is the earliest the Milwaukee Brewers can clinch a playoff spot?
It's Tuesday, Sept. 9. The Brewers could get there by winning Monday, Sept. 8, and Tuesday against the Texas Rangers, and getting a loss Monday or Tuesday from the San Francisco Giants.
It's sort of tricky to tell Brewers fans which other team to watch for, though
A look at the teams on the outside-looking-in of the playoff picture in the National League heading into Sept. 8 games:
- Cincinnati Reds, 72-71
- San Francisco Giants, 72-71
- Arizona Diamondbacks, 72-72
- St. Louis Cardinals, 72-72
The Reds have an identical record to the Giants, but since the Brewers have a season-series tiebreaker clinched against the Reds, Milwaukee only needs two outcomes to go correctly to guarantee a better record than Cincinnati. It's also two for the Diamondbacks and the Cardinals because they have an extra loss.
It's still three with the Giants, who own the season tiebreaker over Milwaukee. As an example, if the Diamondbacks beat San Francisco on Monday, that number falls to two, regardless of what happens in the Brewers game — and the Brewers could make it one with their own win.
But since one of the Giants and Diamondbacks are guaranteed to win Tuesday — not to mention Cincinnati or St. Louis could stick around — the only way the Brewers would be able to gain another digit Tuesday would be to win in Texas.
Thus, the most direct way to pull this off by Tuesday is for the Brewers to win twice and the Giants to lose once. If the Brewers sweep Texas, it doesn't matter what happens in any other games.
St. Louis begins a series in Seattle, and Cincinnati will travel to San Diego starting Sept. 8.
Can the Milwaukee Brewers clinch a playoff spot at home?
All those bunched-up teams make it a little harder to get to the finish line quickly. Milwaukee returns home beginning Friday, Sept. 12, in a series against the Cardinals; none of the other teams on this list play Thursday, Sept. 11, so there remains at least a decent chance that the Brewers will still have some work to do Friday.
We know they're going to the playoffs, but what's the Milwaukee Brewers' magic number to clinch the National League Central against the Cubs?
It's 12 to guarantee a better record than Chicago, which begins a series in Atlanta on Sept. 8.
When is the earliest the Milwaukee Brewers could clinch the division?
Technically, it could happen as early as Sunday, Sept. 14, but that would require a crazy number of outcomes to go correctly. If it happens at home, it's likely to be late in the Brewers' series against the Los Angeles Angels that runs Sept. 16-18. Unfortunately for Brewers fans, though, it's more likely to happen on the subsequent six-game road trip to St. Louis and San Diego.
What's the magic number for the Brewers to get a first-round bye?
Technically, you could say it's nine to secure a better record than the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team leading the National League West. But the Brewers must win their division to get the rights to that bye, so the 12 number against the Cubs also comes into play.
It's a huge deal to avoid the wild-card series, and a bye would send the Brewers directly into the best-of-five National League Division Series, beginning Oct. 4.
What's the magic number for the Brewers to get the No. 1 overall seed in the NL?
It's 13 to finish with a better record than the National League East-leading Phillies, though again, the Brewers would also need to guarantee a better record than the Cubs to lay claim to the No. 1 overall seed.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: When will Brewers clinch playoff spot? What's Brewers' magic number?
