The Milwaukee Brewers enter play on Friday with the best record in baseball, and even though they have already won the National League Central, there is still plenty to play for.
If there was any doubt about whether the Brewers would keep their foot on the gas, fans need to look no further than the game right after their division championship celebration. There was no hangover lineup for Pat Murphy and he used his best relievers to get the win. The Brewers are trying to secure a first-round bye and home-field advantage, with the Los Angeles Dodgers on their tail.
Magic Number To Secure Bye: 4
The Brewers are two games clear of the Dodgers for the No. 1 seed, and six games clear of the Atlanta Braves. With nine games left to play, not much has to happen to secure a bye.
Any combination of Brewers wins and Braves losses equaling four would lock up a bye for the Brewers. If the Brewers win the first two games of their series against the Baltimore Orioles and the Braves lose to the Houston Astros on Friday and Saturday, the Brewers will have locked up a bye by the time games start on Sunday. Then they would only be playing for seeding, but they want the No. 1 seed.
Magic Number To Clinch No. 1 Seed: 7
The Brewers and Dodgers are both trying to lock up the top seed in the National League, but the Brewers have been in the driver's seat for most of the year. The Brewers have series remaining against the Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers will play the San Francisco Giants at home, the San Diego Padres and then the Giants again, but on the road. In the next nine games, the Brewers need to have any combination of wins and Dodgers losses totaling seven to clinch.
The Brewers own the season series against the Dodgers, so another way of looking at it is to say that the Brewers need to at least finish with the same record as the Dodgers, and they will have home-field advantage in the National League postseason.