Brewers Magic Number and Playoff Scenarios

Phew, finally. The setback to the Cardinals can be put in the past, even though not so assuredly.

With Milwaukee’s 8-2 win in Houston on Friday and St. Louis’s loss to the Reds, the Brewers moved back up to 8 1/2 games ahead in the NL Central, and their magic number is 16.

(I would download a picture here, but apparently WordPress is having issues with media displays. Oh well).

Many Brewers fans may want to refocus their attention to the Arizona Diamonbacks out west. After winning nine straight until a loss Friday, Arizona has climbed to within 3 1/2 games of the Brewers for second place in the National League. Why is that important?

Playing the immensely favorable odds that the Braves win the Wild Card, they will not play the top seeded team, the Philadelphia Phillies, because they are in the same division. Instead, they play the second overall team, either the Brewers or D-Backs. Considering how nobody would want to face Philadelphia in the first round, the Brewers race with Arizona may be worth more attention that an 8 1/2 game lead.