In one of the most improbable stories of this Major League Baseball season, the resilient Milwaukee Brewers clinched a spot in the National League playoffs with a 9-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.
Despite finding themselves outside of the playoff picture during much of September and losing MVP candidate Christian Yelich earlier in the month, the Brewers have caught fire late in the month and will now play in the postseason for the second consecutive season.
The two consecutive postseason appearances in 2018 and 2019 are only the second time in franchise history that the Brewers have accomplished this feat. They also did so in 1981 and 1982.
Ryan Braun hit a first-inning grand slam to power the Brew Crew to their 17th win in their last 19 games. Eric Thames and Keston Hiura also got in on the power train with homers of their own, while Jordan Lyles pitched five innings of two-run ball to earn the win.
The Brewers, who moved to 88-70 with their win, still do not know if they will play in the NL Wild Card Game or if they will come back to overtake the Cardinals for their second consecutive NL Central title.
They trail the Cardinals by 1.5 games heading into their season-ending series with the Colorado Rockies.
