MILWAUKEE – The Brewers’ postseason ticket is punched for the eighth time in the last nine seasons, but they aren’t done yet.
“I think we’re going to have to play it down to the last few games to get what we want,” said Christian Yelich, the mainstay through all of those recent playoff teams. “I don’t think anybody is looking forward to October just yet.”
Yes, there are still plenty of questions to answer before the end of the regular season. Here are just some of them:
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 number of pitchers. Last year, the Brewers carried 12 pitchers into Game 1 of the NLDS against the Cubs. Rosters are due the morning of Game 1 of each round.
C: William Contreras, Gary Sánchez
1B: Andrew Vaughn, Jake Bauers
2B: Brice Turang
3B: Joey Ortiz, David Hamilton
SS: Cooper Pratt
OF: Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, Luis Lara
DH: Christian Yelich
SP: Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, Dustin May
RP: Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby (L), Chad Patrick, JoJo Romero (L), Antonio Senzatela, DL Hall (L), Grant Anderson, Robert Gasser (L)
What are the question marks in that projection?
Misiorowski and Henderson are locks to start and have been lined up back-to-back for some time. But who would start a Game 3? The Brewers made liberal use of the opener strategy in last year’s postseason (Ashby started three of the nine games in the NLDS and NLCS, and Trevor Megill also got a start), but that comes with some drawbacks late in games. Kyle Harrison is a huge question mark given his velocity drop and recent struggles, so he’s not on this initial projection for now. Anderson is also a wild card after landing on the injured list in early September. And is there a role for rookie left-hander Shane Drohan?
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 11 a.m. CT 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 is eligible should a need arise. A full explanation is available in our MLB.com glossary.
What’s left to play for?
A lot. The Brewers still need to clinch the NL Central, though that’s bordering on a formality after Milwaukee took five of the seven head-to-head matchups with the Cubs over a 10-day span from Aug. 31-Sept. 9.
After that, the Brewers will try to hold off the Dodgers, Rays and Braves for postseason seeding purposes. After jockeying with other clubs in the middle of the season, the Brewers took over MLB’s best record on Aug. 15 and have held it ever since. If they can finish atop everyone for the second straight season, it would mean home-field advantage as far as they can go. At worst, the Brewers would want one of the two best records in the NL, which earn a first-round bye.
“Last year, the bye week helped,” Yelich said. “We really needed that. We weren’t playing good and guys were out of gas and exhausted.”
When do the playoffs start?
The NL and AL Wild Card Series are best-of-three from Sept. 29-Oct. 1, but the Brewers want no part of that. The Division Series round begins Saturday, Oct. 3 for both leagues.
You’ll find the most up-to-date information about schedules and potential matchups at MLB.com/postseason.
When do postseason tickets go on sale?
The Brewers have not yet announced a single-game on-sale date. Rather, they are encouraging fans to reserve access to postseason games by purchasing a 2027 Season Seat Membership, the only way to guarantee tickets to home playoff games before they go on sale to the public. Keep an eye on brewers.com/Postseason for the latest.
What time are the games?
This is always the No. 1 question, so we’ll repeat our best advice from recent years: Be patient and be flexible. Major League Baseball often does not set a schedule until the full slate of matchups is set, which can be tricky for fans traveling great distances to games. Consider it part of the thrill of October.
The instant that game times are set, you’ll find them at MLB.com/postseason.
What does the regular season tell us about potential foes?
The latest “if the season ended today” matchups are constantly updated at MLB.com/postseason. Beyond that, here are the Brewers’ records and run differentials against the teams in playoff contention:
NL
Braves: 3-3, +5
Cubs: 9-4, +9
Dbacks: 4-2, +22
Dodgers: 4-3, -2
Padres: 2-4, -5
Phillies: 2-1, +9 (three games remaining)
AL
Astros, 2-1, -4
Blue Jays: 2-1, even
Guardians: 2-1, +4
Rangers: 2-1, +4
Rays: 2-1, +9
Red Sox: 1-2, -4
White Sox: 3-0, +19
Yankees: 3-0, +8
Are there any injuries that could impact plans?
They are not on the injured list, but Turang (left knee) and Bauers (shin splints) have been playing hobbled for weeks, and the Brewers hope to get them rest if possible leading into October. Bauers’ bumps and bruises are probably the more serious of the two; he didn’t start any of the three games in the Brewers-Cubs series in Milwaukee.