Postseason FAQ: What's next for Brewers?

For the seventh time in the past eight years, the Brewers will play in the postseason. For the fourth time in the past five years, they are champions of the National League Central. For the first time since 1982, they finished the regular season with the best record in the Majors.

And for the first time in franchise history, they did it all with 97 wins in the regular season.

They hope this is the year they take the next step and not just make the postseason, but advance for the first time since 2018.

“We’re not going to be favored,” said Christian Yelich, the only Brewers hitter who remains from that club. “Everyone is going to point to our question marks, and how there are other teams that have more experienced players and on paper have super talented rosters. I think that gives our team freedom. Nobody thinks you’re going to be able to do this, so let’s just go out there and play and see what happens.”

Here’s a look at some of the questions ahead:

When do the playoffs start?
The NL and AL Wild Card Series are best-of-three from Tuesday-Thursday, but the Brewers, after being eliminated in that round each of the past two seasons, will gladly watch those games from afar. The Division Series round begins next Saturday for both leagues, and the Crew will host the winner of the Padres vs. Cubs NL Wild Card Series. You’ll find the most up-to-date information about schedules and potential matchups at MLB.com/postseason.

What could the postseason roster look like?
After playing with a 28-man roster in September, teams revert to 26 players with a maximum of 13 pitchers in each round of the postseason -- though in the early rounds, few clubs carry the maximum pitchers. Rosters are due the morning of Game 1 of each round.

C: William Contreras, Danny Jansen
1B: Andrew Vaughn, Jake Bauers
2B: Brice Turang
3B: Caleb Durbin
SS: Joey Ortiz, Andruw Monasterio
OF: Blake Perkins, Jackson Chourio, Isaac Collins, Sal Frelick, Christian Yelich, Brandon Lockridge
SP: Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester, Jose Quintana
RP: Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, Nick Mears, Rob Zastryzny, Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick

Who is eligible for the postseason roster?
Generally speaking, any player who was on the 40-man roster or 60-day injured list as of noon on Sept. 1 is eligible for the postseason. But there’s a loophole.

A player who doesn't meet that criteria can still be added to a team's postseason roster via petition to the Commissioner's Office -- if the player was in the organization on Aug. 31 and is replacing someone who is on the injured list and has served the minimum amount of time required for activation. Essentially, that means any player who was in the organization as of Aug. 31 -- say, the recently reacquired Luis Urías -- is eligible should a need arise. A full explanation is available in our MLB.com glossary.

What are the question marks in that roster projection?
There are many, starting with the breakdown of pitchers versus hitters, something club officials have already been discussing. At the moment, it seems they will go with a 12-pitcher, 14-hitter alignment. That could change.

The rotation for a best-of-five series is also up for debate in the wake of Woodruff’s right lat injury, which has him questionable, at best, for the postseason. Our projection includes Quintana, but that is not at all guaranteed, since he’s on the injured list with a left calf strain.

Picking the right use of Misiorowski is also a huge question mark. The Brewers have decided against using him as a starter in the NL Division Series, so his path to the roster is as a multi-inning relief weapon. Milwaukee gave that a look for the first time on Saturday against Cincinnati, and while Misiorowski’s outing didn’t begin well -- he entered a 1-0 game with two outs and the bases loaded in the third inning, and it was 6-0 by the time he got his first out -- Misiorowski did rebound to throw two more scoreless innings. As of Sunday, the best guess was that he’s in.

Health will also play a factor, of course. Our projection includes Megill and Hall, who took big steps in the right direction when they returned from the injured list to pitch in the regular-season finale.

“I’m ready to go wherever they want to plug and play me throughout the postseason,” Megill said. “I’m ready for it. We’ll see how they want to run it.”

On the position-player side, first baseman Rhys Hoskins was the most difficult omission, given his postseason experience and veteran status. But he’s played so sparingly since coming off the injured list that it is difficult to keep him over Lockridge, who has value as a pinch-runner or defensive sub in the outfield.

When do postseason tickets go on sale?
Brewers playoff tickets are on sale now at brewers.com/Postseason.

What time is the game?
MLB announced the first hints about Division Series game times on Wednesday, and it all hinges on the outcome of the Red Sox-Yankees AL Wild Card Series. If the Yankees advance, then Game 1 of the Brewers’ NLDS against the winner of Padres-Cubs would begin at 1:08 p.m. CT on Saturday on TBS and HBO Max. But if the Red Sox advance, then the Brewers’ Game 1 would begin at 8:08 p.m. CT and air on TBS, TruTV and HBO Max. The schedule beyond Game 1 remains to be determined, the league said.

Every year, “What time is the game?” is the most-asked question, right ahead of, “What happens if it rains?” Our advice remains the same: Be patient and be flexible. Major League Baseball typically does not set the schedule until the full slate of matchups is set, which sometimes makes things tricky for fans traveling great distances to games. That’s just part of the thrill of October.

The moment times are set, you’ll find all the information you need at MLB.com/postseason.

What does the regular season tell us about potential foes?
Here are the Brewers’ records and run differentials against the teams in the playoff field:

Cubs: 6-7, -4
Dodgers: 6-0, +15
Padres: 2-4, -8
Phillies: 4-2, +16
Reds: 8-5, +10
Blue Jays: 2-1, +4
Guardians: 1-2, -3
Mariners: 2-1, +13
Red Sox: 3-0, +6
Tigers: 2-1, +1
Yankees: 0-3, -22