Brewers clinch NL Central title

The Brewers are the champions of the NL Central again. Earlier tonight, the Brewers defeated the Pirates 5-1. That left them to watch the Cubs game and wait and see.

The Cubs had an early 3-0 lead, but two-run home runs by Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies put the Braves ahead 4-3. Another two-run home run, this one from Drake Baldwin, put the Braves ahead by three. Closer Raisel Iglesias finished off the game with a lineout from Pete Crow-Armstrong, caught by Brewer Hicklen, and the Braves defeated the Cubs 6-3, and the Brewers clinched the division title. It is their fourth straight division title, as well as their fifth title in the last six seasons.

Year after year, the Brewers have defied the odds and won the division. Many predictions had them around the .500 mark this season and had the Cubs winning the division. However, the Brewers keep outplaying those expectations and winning more titles.

With this year’s title, manager Pat Murphy has now led the Brewers to an NL Central title three times, which is also the number of times they won the division under Craig Counsell. Murphy is also a candidate for a third straight Manager of the Year title, though it may be a tough challenge to win the voters over three straight years.

There’s still work for the Brewers to finish. Their magic number for a first-round bye is down to six, and it is at nine to clinch the top seed in the NL and the best record in baseball.