Brewers Clinch Playoffs: 3 Reasons They Can Win Their First World Series

Major League Baseball’s premier club, the Milwaukee Brewers, have secured their ticket back to the playoffs. Following a resounding 20-0 shutout victory against the Cincinnati Reds (box score) on Friday evening, they emerged as the inaugural National League squad to lock up a 2026 postseason spot. Boasting the sport’s finest record at 92-56, Milwaukee is currently on track to potentially be the first franchise to reach the 100-win milestone since the 2023 season.

For clarity, the Brewers have merely guaranteed themselves a postseason invitation for now. While they are locked into at least the third wild-card seed in the National League, their aspirations are much higher. Their immediate objectives include securing a fourth straight NL Central division crown alongside a first-round bye in the Wild Card Series. It will likely require another week or thereabouts for Milwaukee to officially finalize the division title and lock up that bye.

Milwaukee has replicated their formula for success from last year, a campaign in which they set a franchise high with 97 victories. Currently, they rank among the top three in both offensive runs produced per game and defensive runs surrendered per game (meaning they prevent opponents from scoring highly). Furthermore, they feature a defense that grades out above league average, supported by remarkable roster depth. The Brewers seldom field an unproductive player.

We are witnessing the most successful period in the history of the Brewers franchise. This marks their fourth consecutive year reaching the playoffs and their eighth appearance over the past nine seasons, even though the ultimate prize of a World Series trophy still eludes them. The team captured its lone league pennant back in 1982, a year they ultimately dropped the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in a full seven-game matchup.

Could this finally be the season that Milwaukee breaks through to claim their maiden championship? Below are three key factors that make the Brewers a genuine contender to capture this season’s World Series.

1. Their power numbers are starting to rise

On the offensive side, Milwaukee deploys an exciting, high-tempo style of play. They consistently rank at the top of the majors in categories like stolen bases, sacrifice bunts, infield base hits, bunted singles, and execution of productive outs. The Brewers compel opposing defenses to execute cleanly and stay highly focused on the small details. In essence, they dictate the pace of the game, forcing opponents to make plays, and this aggressive approach yields outstanding results.

Nonetheless, hitting the ball over the wall becomes an absolute necessity in October. Stringing together consecutive hits and base on balls to generate a rally is incredibly difficult when squaring off against elite starting pitchers and dominant late-inning relievers day in and day out, let alone doing so repeatedly throughout a game. Historical data backs this up: during the playoffs, the long ball is what truly decides games.

Since the introduction of the three wild-card format (and indeed historically), overall run production drops during the playoffs, yet home run rates actually rise. A quick look at recent postseasons confirms this reality: home runs dictate outcomes in October. Teams that cannot score instantly with a single swing face an uphill climb. This is a lesson the Brewers have absorbed through painful experiences in recent autumns.

While Milwaukee once again finds itself near the bottom of the league rankings for home runs this year, the momentum is shifting. Starting from the somewhat arbitrary date of August 18, the Brewers have surged into the top 12 for home runs, fueled largely by Jackson Chourio unlocking his power. They might not completely overpower opponents, but they have developed a respectable degree of pop. They are proving they can secure wins through power hitting as well.

2. They boast an exceptional top-of-the-rotation duo

Currently, Jacob Misiorowski is the most thrilling player to watch in the sport. His performance is electrifying—one can only imagine his velocity once the intensity of the playoffs takes over—and he dominates hitters in a fashion that has not been witnessed for years. The closest modern parallel would be Jacob deGrom during his consecutive Cy Young-winning campaigns, yet even deGrom at his absolute best did not feature raw stuff of this magnitude.

Come October, Misiorowski is lined up to take the mound for Game 1. For Game 2, the assignment is expected to fall to the quietly efficient Logan Henderson. Boasting a stellar 2.34 ERA and highly encouraging advanced metrics across 16 starts this year, Henderson has looked even more dominant since recovering from a back ailment in July. Over those 16 outings, he has surrendered more than two runs on only two occasions and has never given up more than three.

While Kyle Harrison’s recent slump leaves the starting rotation behind their top two options somewhat unsettled, Milwaukee can rely on a formidable pairing in their two young righties. The primary strategy for October revolves around handing the ball to Misiorowski and Henderson for a combined four starts in a best-of-seven series. Very few opponents can put forward a starting duo that matches up with that.

It is worth remembering that Misiorowski served as a reliever during last year’s playoffs. Milwaukee was forced to rely on openers or complete bullpen outings in four of their nine postseason contests last year. While they could adopt a similar strategy this time around, Misiorowski and Henderson give them two elite-level starting pitchers that were conspicuously absent from their roster last fall.

3. Rivals in the National League are displaying vulnerabilities

Although National League franchises currently hold five of the top seven records across the major leagues, their fellow NL contenders look far less daunting than their records suggest. The Dodgers have muddled along with roughly a .500 record for over two months, burdened by several struggling veteran players in their batting order. On certain nights, the reigning two-time champions appear noticeably aging.

Atlanta is dealing with a mountain of injuries to their pitching staff, while their lineup has hovered around league average for the past several weeks—and occasionally far below that mark. Meanwhile, the Phillies, armed with a formidable starting rotation, and the Cubs, possessing the most potent offense and top-rated defense in MLB, loom as potentially the most lethal NL opponents in a brief series, yet both of these clubs harbor their own distinct flaws.

When it comes to a brief playoff matchup, any opponent is capable of defeating another. Assessing the current NL landscape, Milwaukee is playing its best baseball right as their rivals are stagnating or backsliding. While this does not guarantee a championship, it suggests that navigating the National League bracket might turn out to be less daunting than originally anticipated. Come postseason time, every minor edge counts.