Brew Crew Ball

After a complete drubbing of the Cincinnati Reds last night, 20-0, to clinch a berth in the postseason, the Milwaukee Brewers are back for more against their NL Central foe. The Brewers have a magic number of 4 to clinch the NL Central coming into tonight’s game. The Chicago Cubs did win their afternoon contest against the Pirates, which means the Brewers can no longer clinch on Sunday and the earliest they could possibly be crowned is on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Chourio had four hits, his fourth four-hit game since August 27th. Two were doubles. His batting average is up 23 points since August 15th. Turang went 3-for-3 with a double and a homer before being lifted for a pinch-runner. Vaughn was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI. Bauers had two hits including a two-run homer. Contreras was the last Brewer starter to pick up a hit, but he finished 2-for-5 with a homer and six RBI. Lara had two hits and robbed a homer.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans which area of the team was most concerning as the Brewers near another playoff run.

The Milwaukee Brewers are fresh off a huge series sweep of the Chicago Cubs that, had there been any doubt remaining, all but locked up the NL Central division. It also put the Brewers on the precipice of officially clinching a playoff spot, which they can do tonight: a win (or losses by both San Diego and Arizona) clinches the Brewers’ eighth postseason berth in the last nine years.

I think the Brewers are now officially close enough to clinching a postseason berth — they can do so as soon as this weekend — that we can start talking about plans for the postseason without jinxing anything. So, who is going to pitch? What is going to be the plan? I’m going to take a look first at the starting rotation, then the bullpen. First: a quick reminder on postseason roster rules.

Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. The Brewers finally got through yet another long gauntlet without off days, and they did so emphatically with a sweep of the Cubs to wrap things up. That puts their division lead up to 10 games, the first time it’s reached double digits this season.

After their first day off in September on Thursday, the Brewers will continue their stretch of NL Central foes as they’ll host the Reds for three games in Milwaukee, the second time they’ll see Cincinnati in the last two weeks, as the Reds took two of three in Cincy last weekend. The Brewers are coming off of a sweep of the Cubs to balloon their NL Central lead to 10 games over the rest of the pack, sitting at 91-56 with 15 games left.

How about another shirt for Milwaukee’s young right fielder? After they dropped an “Air Lara” shirt in August, they’re back with a “Luis Aura” shirt this time around. Lara, still just 21, has continued to shine defensively, making a huge catch late in Monday’s win over the Cubs before adding an exclamation point on offense with a walk-off single on Tuesday night. Officially licensed by MLB Players, Inc.

The Brewers still have work to do in the regular season, but postseason prep can start soon On Tuesday night, the Brewers pulled together another come-from-behind victory, this one in dramatic fashion, and they then completed a sweep of the Cubs on Wednesday evening. With the sweep, the magic number to clinch the NL Central is down to five.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Welcome back to another edition of our Brewers Reacts Survey! In this week’s poll, we’re asking which area of the team fans are most worried about for the postseason: the offense, the starting rotation, or the bullpen.