The Milwaukee Brewers are on the verge of doing it again.
They enter the final week of the MLB regular season with the best record in baseball. It’s an astounding feat for a team in a smaller market that isn’t anywhere near the top of the league’s payroll charts.
But this is what the Brewers do, and at this point they’re just trying to put the finishing touches on an incredible regular season to give themselves the best possible chance at playoff success.
If Milwaukee takes care of business, there’s both a first-round bye and the NL’s No. 1 seed within reach.
They open the final week of the regular season on Tuesday night with a three-game series in Philadelphia against the Phillies.
The Brewers then return home for a three-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Brewers Magic Number for 1st-Round Bye
The first goal for the Brewers this week will be to secure a first-round bye. Their magic number for that is 1.
A first-round bye arrives by being one of the top-two seeds in the league in the six-team playoff format.
Seeds 3-6 have to play in the Wild Card Round, while the two best teams get a break and wait for the Divisional Series.
The Brewers are on the doorstep of the bye. They just need either one win, or one loss by the Atlanta Braves (chasing as the NL East leader), to secure at worst the No. 2 seed in the league and get the first-round bye that comes with it.
Given that both the Brewers and Braves have six games left, it’s hard to imagine that this won’t be secure soon.
Brewers Magic Number for No. 1 Seed Over Dodgers
The next goal for Milwaukee would be to get the National League’s No. 1 seed over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Brewers enter the final week of the season with a 2.0-game lead in records compared to Los Angeles, which has clinched the NL West Division title and also wants a first-round bye.
The magic number for this is 4.
Any combination of four Brewers wins and Dodgers losses this week means that Milwaukee gets the top seed, and the home-field advantage that comes with it throughout the National League playoffs.
The key here is that the Brewers hold the tiebreaker. They won the season series 4-3 over the Dodgers. So if these teams end up with the same record, the Brewers come out ahead — that’s why with the two-game difference and six to play, the magic number is 4.
The Dodgers close the season with three games at home against the San Diego Padres and then three games in San Francisco against the Giants, and there’s still plenty to play for.
Brewers’ Magic Numbers for 1st-Round Bye, NL No. 1 Seed Revealed