MILWAUKEE -- The industrial blowers drying the clubhouse carpet at American Family Field on Wednesday afternoon were not the only signs that the Brewers had clinched the National League Central title the night before.
There was also a starting lineup missing names like Christian Yelich, Willy Adames, Mark Canha and Carlos Santana. Later in the night, Milwaukee’s usual bullpen order was flipped on its head. High-leverage reliever Abner Uribe pitched in the sixth inning while the Brewers trailed, then, Joel Payamps worked the seventh with the score tied and Andrew Chafin got the eighth with a one-run lead -- all part of a plan of loosely-scheduled outings in the coming days to get the ‘pen rested and ready for the postseason.
It was only in the bottom of the ninth inning that things appeared as they would next week in a best-of-three NL Wild Card Series. The lights dimmed and out came closer Devin Williams to cement a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals.
- Games remaining (4): vs. STL (1), vs. CHC (3)
- Standings update: The Brewers (89-69) won the NL Central and are locked in as the NL’s No. 3 seed, meaning they will host a best-of-three NL Wild Card Series against the final NL Wild Card entrant starting on Oct. 3 at American Family Field. Tickets are on sale now.
“It went to script pretty good tonight,” said manager Craig Counsell, who planned to pitch Uribe, Payamps and Williams no matter the score. “We’re going to try to do some of that, and that it worked out the first night is helpful.”
One of the Brewers’ relievers particularly in need of work was Williams, who hadn’t pitched in nine days. In this case, the game played along to produce his 36th save.
Starter Wade Miley allowed one run in five innings before Milwaukee started rolling out its relievers. Tyrone Taylor doubled twice and drove in a run in both a tying, two-run sixth inning and in a go-ahead seventh to boost his OPS to 1.042 over his past 16 games.
Catcher William Contreras, one of the Brewers’ regulars who did play, doubled and scored to extend a stretch in which he’s reached safely in 34 of his past 35 games, with a .968 OPS in that time.
Along the way, St. Louis helped out with a series of defensive misplays and non-plays that allowed Milwaukee to score the tying- and go-ahead runs on a night when winning was still the priority, even if it didn’t tilt the standings.
“I think it felt more free,” Taylor said. “We were able to go out there and have fun, not have to worry about getting a clinch. It was freeing, and hopefully we keep playing like that.”
Miley finished the regular season 9-4 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts and 120 1/3 innings -- exceeding, according to Counsell, what the Brewers expected when they brought him back last offseason to pitch at the back end of the rotation. The lefty credited Milwaukee’s athletic training staff, led by Scott Barringer, for helping him navigate a couple of stints on the injured list.
Counsell called Miley “one of the big keys to the season.” The veteran pitcher figures to be available in the bullpen during the Wild Card Series behind starters Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and, if necessary, Freddy Peralta.
“You know it’s not going to be 170 innings, but it’s really the quality he delivers as much as anything,” Counsell said. “He gave us exactly what we needed. It ended up being a real glue, what he did. … And then, I think Wade has had a big impact in our clubhouse as well. He’s a baseball rat.”
At the same time players like Miley await what’s next in October, there’s work happening behind the scenes to make sure the Brewers are ready. Down in Phoenix, a group of players have gathered for workouts at the club’s spring facility so they stay sharp in lieu of any Minor League games to play.
The Brewers haven’t released names, but Owen Miller and Joey Wiemer would make sense as potential alternates.
Upstairs in the front office, the advance scouting crew is already working ahead on potential opponents. The list is narrowing as teams like the Giants and Padres fall out of contention. The Cubs, Reds, Marlins and D-backs are the most likely foes at this point.
“One benefit is we’re actually very familiar with three of the teams,” said Counsell, referring to the division-rival Cubs and Reds, and a Marlins team the Brewers just played seven times in an 11-day span. “So yeah, you start to narrow the picture a little bit.”
If anything, Milwaukee is rooting for the Wild Card race to be as wild as possible.
Let those potential foes wear out their pitching as much as possible.
“I feel like we put ourselves in a great position,” Counsell said.