Milwaukee Brewers

Logan Morrison doesn't believe MLB's sign-stealing problem ends with the Houston Astros. 

The Milwaukee Brewers first baseman wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post he believes other teams have been guilty of similar infractions.

"I know from first hand accounts that the Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, and Red Sox all have used film to pick signs," he wrote, per NJ Advance Media's Brendan Kuty. "Just want you guys to know the truth. I personally think it's a tool in a tool belt to pick signs, but if we are going to be punishing people for it. Don't half ass it."

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich reported in November the Astros had set up a monitor in center field at Minute Maid Park. Houston set up a television monitor between the clubhouse and dugout that broadcasted the feed in order to determine the meaning of the catcher's signs.

Upon completing an investigation, MLB suspended Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for one year. Team owner Jim Crane subsequently fired both men.

Morrison listing the Red Sox and Yankees as possible guilty parties as well isn't surprising.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was Houston's bench coach in 2017 and heavily implicated in the team's sign-stealing setup. Cora and the Red Sox are still under investigation by MLB.

Not much reading between the lines necessary to predict that Alex Cora will never manage in the Major Leagues again. pic.twitter.com/qiuFkvlaau

— Joe Posnanski (@JPosnanski) January 13, 2020

Rosenthal and Drellich also reported Boston and its biggest rival engaged in tactics similar to those of the Astros:

"As far back as 2015, the Yankees used the video replay room to learn other teams' sign sequences, multiple sources told The Athletic. Other teams likely were doing the same. Sources said the Red Sox began doing it no later than 2016.

"Oftentimes it takes a player to show up and be like 'You f--king morons, you're not doing this?' said one American League executive."

The report noted the Red Sox and Yankees' approach came at a time before MLB laid down more explicit rules regarding the use of electronics to steal signs. 

MLB issued fines to Boston and New York in September 2017 for attempting to electronically steal signs. Speaking at the owners' meetings in November, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters how he was approaching sign-stealing with a different mindset after meting out those fines:

"I take myself seriously. I do. I think that when this began to bubble up during the '17 season, I looked backward at how the issue had been dealt with. … I wrote what I wrote because I did not believe that the disciplines that had been handed out in the past were in line with the significance of the issues that we were dealing with. So I do view [the public statement] as a line of demarcation."

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Cora's punishment is expected to be "harsh" when the ongoing investigation into the Red Sox concludes.

The Dodgers have so far avoided the kind of claims swirling around the Astros and Red Sox, who beat them in back-to-back World Series.

The Milwaukee Brewers and manager Craig Counsell reached an agreement Wednesday on a three-year contract extension through the 2023 MLB season.

Manager Craig Counsell has been signed to a 3-year contract extension through the 2023 season. pic.twitter.com/Xlsq7gCaOI

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) January 8, 2020

Counsell has guided the Brew Crew to a 405-381 record across five years. The club has current streaks of three winning seasons and two playoff appearances.

Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns released a statement about the new deal.

"We are pleased to extend the contract of one of the best managers in the game today," he said. "Over the last five seasons, Craig has led our team with a passion and intelligence that has resulted in some of the greatest success in the history of the franchise. I am confident in Craig's abilities to lead, teach and compete as we continue our mission of bringing a championship to Wisconsin."

Milwaukee is coming off an 89-73 campaign that earned the team a wild-card berth. It held a 3-1 lead over the Washington Nationals in the NL Wild Card Game, but the Nats scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and went on to win the game and eventually the 2019 World Series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lfknv6JpE8

"Leading this organization on the field continues to be a great honor and unique privilege," Counsell said after signing his new contract. "I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish during a short period of time through our collaborative efforts, and look forward to what the future holds."

The 49-year-old Indiana native, who won two World Series during his 16-year playing career, will lead a roster that's been bolstered by a series of offseason additions. Outfielder Avisail Garcia, infielder Eric Sogard and starting pitcher Brett Anderson are among the club's new players.

Those acquisitions alongside a strong foundation that features 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich and 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun at least put the Brewers in the championship conversation.

They have 20-1 odds to win the 2020 World Series, which is tied for the 11th-best mark in the league, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

Meanwhile, the extension provides some job security for Counsell, who was set to enter the final year of his previous contract in 2020.

The Milwaukee Brewers reportedly added a slugger to their lineup.

On Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported they agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with first baseman Justin Smoak. He also noted the deal includes a club option of $5.5 million in 2021.

This comes after Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the two sides were "close" to an agreement that would solve the team's "issue" at first base.

From Passan: "He'll be paid $4 million this year, and the option has a $1 million buyout, guaranteeing him at least $5 million on the deal."

Smoak played just 121 games last season with the Toronto Blue Jays and finished with a lackluster .208 batting average. He also turned 33 this month and was responsible for minus-three defensive runs saved at first base last year, per FanGraphs.

Still, he hit 22 long balls in limited action last year and isn't far removed from an impressive 2017 campaign that saw him slash .270/.355/.529 with a career-best 38 home runs and 90 RBI. He also finished the 2018 season with 25 home runs.

Smoak figures to fit right into a power-driven Brewers lineup that finished third in the National League in home runs last season.

Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader is reportedly generating significant trade interest from teams looking to shore up the back end of their bullpen. 

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the New York Yankees are the "most active pursuer" of Hader. The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets have also made inquiries to the Brewers. 

Rosenthal noted it "remains unlikely" that Hader will end up being traded in part because teams are reluctant to meet Milwaukee's demands, which include at least one top prospect. 

Rosenthal previously reported the Brewers were listening to offers for Hader as a way to maximize his trade value and potentially give them more payroll flexibility. 

Just 25 years old, Hader is a Super Two player, which will allow him to go through arbitration four times instead of the standard three times. Per MLB Trade Rumors' Tim Dierkes, the two-time All-Star is projected to earn $4.6 million in arbitration for 2020.

The Yankees already boast one of MLB's best bullpens with a group that includes Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino and Tommy Kahnle. The Dodgers won 106 games last season despite Kenley Jansen posting a career-worst 3.71 ERA in 63 innings last season. 

The Mets could be looking for a more stable ninth-inning option after Edwin Diaz's ERA ballooned from 1.96 in 2018 with the Seattle Mariners to 5.59 in 2019. 

Milwaukee needs to add help to its starting rotation next season after that group finished last in the NL with 788.2 innings in 2019.

Hader owns a 2.42 ERA with 102 hits allowed and 349 strikeouts over 204.2 innings in 151 games over the past three seasons. He's under team control for four more seasons before being eligible for free agency after 2023. 

The 2019-20 Major League Baseball offseason has only been going on for about a month, yet it's already given the Milwaukee Brewers no choice but to consider drastic measures.

Up to and including a trade of arguably baseball's best relief pitcher.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, left-handed closer Josh Hader is "indeed available" in trade talks. It was a surprise when Rosenthal reported that Sunday, but the two-time All-Star's availability is only making more sense by the day.

Latest notes: Availability of #Brewers’ Hader; #RedSox’s decision on JBJ; #Phillies’ evolving infield; the issue with #Nationals’ initial offer to Rendon; catching, second-base markets; more. https://t.co/bq378OEYMR

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 2, 2019

On Monday, the Brewers lost Mike Moustakas to free agency when he signed a four-year, $64 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds. Before that, they had already lost Yasmani Grandal and Drew Pomeranz on four-year deals with the Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres, respectively.

Moustakas and Grandal combined for an .848 OPS and 63 home runs in 2019. Meanwhile, Pomeranz was an instrumental bullpen piece with 45 strikeouts in only 26.1 innings after joining the Brewers in July.

Milwaukee's depth chart has also been dinged by trades of Chase Anderson, Zach Davies and Trent Grisham, Eric Thames' declined option and five non-tenders, including Travis Shaw and Jimmy Nelson.

The trade of Davies and Grisham to the Padres brought back shortstop Luis Urias, who was an elite prospect going into 2019, and left-hander Eric Lauer, who's a decent innings-eater. The Brewers also have opened up a good deal of payroll flexibility.

As of now, however, they hardly resemble either the team that won 96 games in 2018 or the team that won 89 games in 2019. And given how much free agency is paying out so far, the flexibility they've gained probably isn't enough to fill their many holes on the open market.

Which brings us back to Hader, who now looks like a singularly valuable trade chip.

Since making his major league debut in 2017, Hader has racked up a 2.42 ERA in 151 appearances across 204.2 innings. According to Baseball Reference, his 6.6 wins above replacement in this span ranks second among relievers.

Yet the 25-year-old's biggest claim to pitching fame is his ability to strike batters out. His career rate of 15.4 strikeouts per nine innings is the highest of any pitcher who's ever logged over 200 innings.

And Hader's dominance is only increasing as he gains experience. His K/9 has risen from 12.8 to 15.8 to 16.4 in his three seasons, while his walks-per-nine rate has dropped from 4.2 to 3.3 to 2.4. 

More specifically, Hader's fastball is becoming increasingly dominant. He threw it 84.3 percent of the time in 2019, with both career-best velocity (95.5 mph) and spin rate (2,123 RPM). Hitters knew it was coming, but they just couldn't hit it.

Josh Hader, 12 Swinging Strikes on Fastballs in 2 innings (in under 20 seconds). 😮🔥 pic.twitter.com/IurA9NLHsv

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 28, 2019

An obligatory disclaimer about relief pitchers is that their performances are notoriously volatile. What happened with the New York Mets and Edwin Diaz in 2019 is a good example of how teams can be burned by that reality.

But whereas Diaz only had one truly outstanding season before 2019, it's to Hader's credit that he's always been good and is still getting better. As relievers go, he would seem to be a sure thing.

Hader's reputation took a hit during the 2018 All-Star Game, when Twitter users dug up racist, homophobic and generally hurtful tweets from his teenage years. Yet that presumably won't lessen his trade value, which is further heightened by his modest salary projection ($4.6 million) for 2020 and his club control through 2023.

Meanwhile, what's happening in the wider world of relief pitching can't be ignored.

In 2019, relievers were needed for a record number of innings yet also recorded their worst ERA since 2000. The way in which top free agents such as Pomeranz, Will Smith and Chris Martin were quickly snatched up on multiyear deals suggests teams can read the writing on the wall: Good relievers are at a premium right now.

The holy grail of relief pitcher trades is the 2016 deal in which the New York Yankees cashed in two-and-a-half years of Andrew Miller for four players, including top prospects Justus Sheffield and Clint Frazier. And that was at a time when good relief pitching was in relatively decent supply.

In theory, Hader's present trade value is thus through the proverbial roof. So much so that the Brewers might stand to gain more from moving him than they would from keeping him.

Rosenthal tossed out J.D. Davis and even Jeff McNeil as possible centerpieces in a trade with the Mets. The Brewers hypothetically could inquire about Dom Smith, Brandon Nimmo or Seth Lugo, too.

If not the Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers might covet Hader for their much-maligned bullpen. Even if they didn't want to deal any core pieces from their major league roster, younger talents such as Dustin May, Keibert Ruiz or even uber-prospect Gavin Lux might not be off-limits.

The Boston Red Sox are another possibility. They have a variety of corner infielders (i.e., Michael Chavis, Sam Travis and Bobby Dalbec) to offer. If they were willing to move Ryan Braun to first base, the Brewers could also push for Andrew Benintendi.

This is just scratching the surface of a long list of contenders that could conceivably make a run for Hader. If it's a question of which teams need a controllable relief ace, the Yankees and Atlanta Braves might be the only two clubs that don't match that description.

This doesn't mean the Brewers have to trade Hader. But given the many different circumstances at play, they could be glad they chose to strike this particular iron while it was hot.

                  

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant. Payroll data courtesy of Roster Resource. Salary arbitration projections courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors.

Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Trent Grisham told reporters that his eighth-inning error in a 4-3 loss to the Washington Nationals in the National League Wild Card Game on Tuesday will "sting for a long time."

"It's going to sting. It's going to sting for a long time," Grisham said postgame. "Essentially gifting the Nationals a divisional berth. It's going to hurt. And I expect it to hurt when I debrief and go into the offseason."

The Brewers were up 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth, but the Nats loaded the bases and sent the dangerous Juan Soto to the dish.

The 20-year-old then smacked a single to right that would have definitely scored one (and very likely two) even if Grisham fielded the ball cleanly, but the bases cleared after the ball bounced by the outfielder's glove side.

To Grisham's credit, he hustled back and fired the ball back into the infield, where Soto was called out in a rundown between second and third.

ESPN's Jeff Passan paraphrased Grisham's recall of the play.

"Grisham faulted himself for his approach on the play," Passan wrote. "He charged the ball too quickly, he said, and didn't break down to get into position to field it. When the ball hit the ground, it took a slight leftward hop past the glove of the left-handed Grisham."

Grisham also spoke further on the matter.

"At the end of the game, when getting down to six, five, four outs to go, of course you feel all that pressure," he said. "It's exciting. You want to live in those moments and live up to those expectations.

"I don't think it got to me at all. I just ended up making an error. It's not my first. It's not going to be my last. It just happened that way."

In fairness to Grisham, the most likely scenario after the single and before the error was a tie ballgame with Soto on first base and the score tied at three. Milwaukee would have still faced an uphill climb to win the game at that point.

Furthermore, Grisham was one of the reasons Milwaukee was a playoff team in the first place. He had a few monster games at the dish, none more so than his five-hit performance against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 9. The 22-year-old had six homers, 24 RBI and a .738 OPS in 51 games.

Milwaukee will now enter the offseason, but the Nats will head to Los Angeles and play the Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Thursday. First pitch is 8:37 p.m. ET on TBS.

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun suffered a left calf strain against the Colorado Rockies on Friday and will undergo an MRI, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. 

Ben Gamel replaced Braun in the second inning. In the first, Braun knocked in Trent Grisham with a first-inning single to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead. He played the field in the bottom of the first and did not get an at-bat in the second before exiting.

The 35-year-old has 22 home runs, 75 RBI and a .285 batting average.

Despite the 11-7 loss to Colorado on Friday, the scorching-hot 89-71 Brewers had won seven straight and clinched a National League postseason berth for the second consecutive year. They are just one game behind the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals, who are hosting the Chicago Cubs this weekend, with two remaining.

Milwaukee is also two games back of the Washington Nationals for the top NL wild-card spot.

Gamel, 27, entered Friday with seven home runs, 33 RBI and a .249 batting average. He figures to take Braun's place if the 2011 National League MVP is out for any period of time.

The Brewers already have incentive to win this weekend given the wild-card and division races, but taking the NL Central would give Braun a few days to heal before the National League Division Series begins.

The NL Wild Card Game is set to take place Tuesday, or two days before the two NLDS begin.

Remarkably, Milwaukee has dominated of late sans 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich, who is out for the year after suffering a fractured right kneecap Sept. 10. The 27-year-old finished with 44 home runs, 97 RBI and a .329 batting average.

The Brewers pitching staff has played a massive role in that seven-game win streak, allowing just 13 runs (and no more than three in a single contest). The bats have also excelled, putting up a pair of 10-run games against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week and scoring nine more against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.

Losing Braun certainly wouldn't be ideal, especially since the team is already without Yelich.

However, the hurlers and lineup may very well carry the Brewers deep into the playoffs once again after they finished one win shy of the NL pennant last year.

On Sept. 10, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich went down with a fractured kneecap. It was almost assuredly the end of the 2019 season for the reigning National League MVP and likely spelled doom and gloom for the Brew Crew.

Or not.

Since Yelich landed on the injured list, the Brewers have gone 13-2 and cemented a playoff spot with a 9-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.

"What we just accomplished is really against all odds," outfielder Ryan Braun told reporters.

That isn't hyperbole.

The loss of Yelich, who owned a .329 average and 1.100 OPS prior to his injury, was supposed to be a death knell for Milwaukee. Instead, the Brewers have vaulted themselves into the playoffs. They're a lock to make the postseason as a wild-card entrant and have a chance to win the National League Central, currently trailing the St. Louis Cardinals by one game with three contests left on the calendar.

Partly, they've benefited from a soft schedule. Since Sept. 9, 14 of their 17 games have been against the Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates and Reds, all sub-.500 squads.

Their pitching staff, meanwhile, has posted a Major League Baseball-leading 2.74 ERA in September compared to a 4.39 overall mark. Gio Gonzalez (1.47 September ERA), Chase Anderson (2.35), Jordan Lyles (2.39) and Zach Davies (2.45) have all thrived, while closer Josh Hader is a bat-missing force to be reckoned with.

The competition has been less than stiff of late for the Brewers' arms. But results are results, and Milwaukee has cause for optimism on the pitching front based on recent returns.

On offense, catcher Yasmani Grandal has hit six home runs and posted a .966 OPS in the calendar month, while Braun has an .895 OPS over the same span.

Rookie Trent Grisham has seen increased action since Yelich's injury. Overall, the 22-year-old has six home runs and six doubles in 47 games with the Brewers and has helped ease the loss of Yelich.

Obviously, Milwaukee misses the reigning Senior Circuit MVP. But as the Brewers charge into October, it's worth asking: How deep can they go without their offensive anchor?

Unless they can surpass the Cardinals, the Brewers will battle the Washington Nationals in the NL Wild Card Game. Entering play Friday, they were one game behind the Nats and would therefore play the do-or-die contest on the road.

Whether the game is in Wisconsin or the nation's capital, they will likely face Nats ace Max Scherzer, who has held current Milwaukee hitters to a .182 career average. Take Yelich—who has gone 10-for-29 against Scherzer—out of the picture, and that number falls to .140.

If they survive that test, they'd play the loaded Los Angeles Dodgers in a tough division-series matchup. Even with Yelich, they'd be underdogs. Without him, their chances are even slimmer.

Then again, they've made a habit of defying the odds. For what it's worth, the Brewers are 3-4 against the Dodgers in 2019 and 4-2 against the Nationals.

"I'm sure a lot of people wrote us off, saying we couldn't do it, for numerous reasons," Yelich told reporters. "But we believe in the talent in this room, the kind of guys we have and the culture we continue to build here. I'm really proud of all these guys."

If you're placing bets, put your money on the Nationals beating the Brewers in the Wild Card Game. And if Milwaukee manages to advance to the division series, put dollars on Los Angeles to bounce the Crew posthaste.

But again, who thought Milwaukee would taste the playoffs when Yelich went on the injured list? Sometimes, the implausible becomes reality.

Milwaukee finishes the season with a three-game set against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. The division-leading Cardinals, meanwhile, host the Chicago Cubs for a three-game set.

If the Brewers can sneak past the Cardinals, they'd face the Atlanta Braves—against whom they've gone 3-3 this season—in the division series.

"It does us good to take care of today's business at hand, to accomplish the things we need to in our game plan, with rest and with those things, and be good at those things," manager Craig Counsell told reporters. "If you keep doing that every day, it's like stacking good things on top of each other and the end result is hopefully pretty good."

The Brewers have already achieved "pretty good" by guaranteeing they'll advance beyond 162 games. Now, they have a shot at really good. Maybe even at great.

Forget doom and gloom. Milwaukee has a chance to shine on the game's biggest stage, even without its best player.

The Brewers will have to defy the odds to make a deep push. The good news? Defying the odds is this team's specialty. 

        

All statistics current through Thursday's games and courtesy of Baseball Reference.

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon isn't about to let the concerns of the Milwaukee Brewers or their fans impact his lineup choices for an upcoming three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Milwaukee is one game behind the Cardinals in a tight National League Central race, and Maddon addressed the idea he won't play his best players over the weekend with the Cubs eliminated from postseason consideration.

"Of course they're going to b---h, and I get it, but quite frankly, there are certain things I really don't give a s--t about, and that would be one of them," he said, per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.

While Milwaukee will be frustrated with the Cubs if they lose to the Cardinals, Maddon doesn't owe the defending NL Central champions anything and has dealt with a number of critical injuries down the stretch.

In the last month alone, Anthony Rizzo suffered an ankle injury, Javier Baez was sidelined with a fractured thumb and Kris Bryant suffered an ankle injury while running the bases. Those are arguably the Cubs' three best players, and there is no need for the North Siders to risk further injury after they were eliminated from the playoffs.

Those injuries partially explain their nosedive to end this season. 

Chicago was in the thick of the race with Milwaukee and St. Louis but has lost eight games in a row in what could be Maddon's final season with the team. His contract runs out after this season, and a failure to meet elevated expectations doesn't bode well for his immediate future with the team he helped lead to the 2016 World Series title.

The Brewers have a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies at the same time the Cubs are playing the Cardinals and will need to win their games and hope Chicago's backup options play well enough to win at least one of the three games.

The Brew Crew are coming to an October near you.

Milwaukee beating the Cincinnati Reds 9-2 clinched a National League wild-card spot for the Brewers on Wednesday night.

“They’re going to the postseason!” #MKEHistory pic.twitter.com/Hnz0vkw7jx

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 26, 2019

https://twitter.com/Brewers/status/1177040630373081089

The Chicago Cubs and New York Mets were officially eliminated from contention as a result.

The Brewers have been on a tear in September, going 19-4. That includes a 12-2 mark since reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich was lost for the remainder of the season with a fractured kneecap on Sept. 10.

As of Sept. 5, the Brewers were 71-68 and 7.5 games back in the division as well as five behind in the wild-card race. To categorize Milwaukee making the postseason as surprising is an understatement, and Ryan Braun—who hit a grand slam against the Reds—agrees:

Ryan Braun: "Really, it was against all odds what we just accomplished. It’s hard to articulate how unlikely what we just did was. But there’s still challenges that lie ahead. We celebrate tonight because getting into the postseason is an incredible accomplishment."

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) September 26, 2019

While it is never a positive to lose a player of Yelich's caliber, the Brewers could not have rallied any better.

Led by Yelich last fall, the Brewers won Game 163 to clinch the NL Central for the first time since 2011. Their run made it to the National League Championship Series before they fell 4-3 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Milwaukee has been led at the plate by Yelich through the majority of this season, too, as the 27-year-old outfielder had 44 home runs and 97 RBI with a .329/.429/.671 slash line at the time of his injury.

Once Yelich went down, though, the Brewers were carried by their pitching. In September, Milwaukee's starting rotation has the best ERA in MLB at 2.77. Jordan Lyles was behind Wednesday's victory, and the 28-year-old right-hander has gone 7-1 since the Pittsburgh Pirates traded him prior to the July 31 deadline.

Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell gushed over Lyles while celebrating his second postseason trip since taking over the Brewers in 2015:

CC on Lyles: "I don’t know how people rank this stuff, but it’s got to be one of the best moves at the Deadline along with Drew [Pomeranz]. They have had a huge impact on what we’ve done. We’re 10-1 in Jordan’s starts now. I don’t know how much more impact you can get than that."

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) September 26, 2019

Somehow, in the aftermath of losing one of the game's best players, the Brewers have a chance at snagging back-to-back division titles for the first time since 1981-82. After Wednesday's action, Milwaukee sits just 1.5 games back from the St. Louis Cardinals, who have also clinched a postseason berth.

Whoever loses out on the Central crown will play the Washington Nationals in the NL Wild Card on Tuesday.