Milwaukee Brewers Clinch NL Central Title as Chicago Cubs Lose to Oakland A's

The Chicago Cubs, led by manager Craig Counsell, dropped their series with the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday and handed the Milwaukee Brewers the NL Central crown in the process.

Jun 30, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang (2) runs the bases after hitting a grand slam home run in the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field. / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers were set to face the Philadelphia Phillies with a playoff spot on the line Wednesday night, but the Chicago Cubs wound up cutting the stakes of that showdown in half.

Milwaukee's magic number dropped from one to zero before they even took the field for their series finale against Philadelphia, all because of what went down 90 miles south at Wrigley Field. The Cubs lost their matinee showdown with the Oakland Athletics earlier in the day, falling 10.5 games back of the Brewers in the NL Central standings.

As a result, the Brewers both clinched the postseason and the division title.

Even if Milwaukee loses to Philadelphia on Wednesday, their lead over Chicago can't be erased in the 10 games left on the regular season slate. The Brewers own the season series 8-5, meaning the Cubs do not have the tiebreaker on their side.

This marks the sixth time in seven years that Milwaukee is headed to the playoffs, as well as their fourth NL Central crown in that span. All of that previous success came under manager Craig Counsell, though, before he signed a record-breaking contract with the Cubs last November.

So naturally, it was Counsell who gifted the Brewers another division title on Wednesday.

The Brewers are the first team to punch their ticket to the playoffs across all of MLB, but several others can do the same on Wednesday. Philadelphia could join Milwaukee in celebration, for instance, if they win and the Atlanta Braves lose to the Cincinnati Reds.

The New York Yankees' magic number is one, meaning all they need to do to clinch a postseason bid is beat the Seattle Mariners. Even the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians could lock in a trip to the playoffs, if three different results go their way.

Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York all boast better records than Milwaukee, but the Brewers have taken advantage of a weaker division and spun that into yet another trip to October. With that weight coming off their shoulders so soon, perhaps rookie manager Pat Murphy can take this time to prepare his squad for an extended postseason run.

The Brewers haven't won the National League pennant since 1982.

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