Milwaukee Brewers clinch first 2026 NL postseason berth with 20-0 win over Reds

The best in baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers, are returning to the postseason. On Friday night, the Brewers became the first National League team to clinch a postseason berth in 2026 with their dominating 20-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds (box score). Milwaukee has baseball's best record at 92-56 and has a chance to become baseball's first 100-win team since 2023.

To be clear, the Brewers have only clinched a spot in the postseason. They are assured of being no worse than the third National League wild-card team, though they have loftier goals. Up next is clinching their fourth consecutive NL Central title and also a Wild Card Series bye. It'll be another week or so before Milwaukee can nail down the division title and a bye.

The Brewers have done it this season the same way they did it last season, when they won a franchise record 97 games. They're top 3 in both runs scored per game and runs allowed per game (as in fewest runs allowed), they're an above-average defensive team, and they have impressive depth. Milwaukee rarely puts a bad player on the field.

This is the most prosperous era in Brewers history. They've been to the postseason four straight years and eight times in the last nine years, though the Brewers are still searching for their first World Series title. They won the franchise's only pennant in 1982, when they lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

Will this be the year the Brewers get over the hump and win their first-ever championship? Here are three reasons Milwaukee is a real threat to win this year's World Series.

1. They're beginning to hit for power

The Brewers play a very fun, high-energy game on offense. They're at or near the top of the league in stolen bases, sacrifice bunts, infield singles, bunt hits and productive outs. The Brewers will make you defend well and pay attention to details. To put it another way, they force you to play baseball. They force the action and it works very, very well.

That all said, home runs are a must in the postseason. It is really hard to build a rally around multiple base hits and walks when you're facing the other team's top starters and relievers every night, let alone to do so several times per game. The proof is in the numbers. In the postseason, home runs win games.

Reg. season R/GReg. season HR/GPost. R/GPost. HR/G

2022

4.28

1.07

3.66

1.16

2023

4.62

1.21

4.10

1.34

2024

4.39

1.12

4.21

1.14

2025

4.45

1.16

4.01

1.20

In the era of three wild-card teams (and even before that, too), runs per game come down in the postseason, but home runs per game go up. You just need to watch the playoffs to see it. Home runs reign supreme in October. If you're unable to put runs on the board with one swing, you're fighting an uphill battle. The Brewers have learned that the hard way over the last few years.

Milwaukee again ranks near the bottom of the league in home runs this season, but the tide is turning. Since the admittedly arbitrary date of Aug. 18, the Brewers are top 12 in home runs, with Jackson Chourio in particular finding his power stroke. They won't bang the ball around the yard, but the Brewers at least have some power now. They're showing they can beat you that way, too.

2. They have a great 1-2 punch in the rotation

Jacob Misiorowski is the greatest show in baseball right now. He's electrifying -- what will his velocity look like once postseason adrenaline kicks in? -- and dominant in a way we haven't seen in a long time. The best recent comparison is Jacob deGrom during his back-to-back Cy Young years, though even peak deGrom did not bring this caliber of stuff to the mound.

Misiorowski will start Game 1 come October. The Game 2 start figures to go to the under-the-radar Logan Henderson, who owns a 2.34 ERA with impressive under-the-hood numbers in 16 starts this season, and has been even better since returning from a back issue in July. Henderson has allowed more than two runs twice in 16 starts and never more than three runs.

Kyle Harrison's recent fade means the postseason rotation behind Misiorowski and Henderson is a bit up in the air at the moment, but the Brewers have an excellent 1-2 punch in those two young right-handers. The master plan in October is starting Misiorowski and Henderson four times in a best-of-seven series. Not many teams can match that 1-2 punch.

Keep in mind, Misiorowski worked out of the bullpen last postseason. Milwaukee used an opener or a straight bullpen game in four of its nine playoff games last year. The Brewers could do something similar this year, sure, but Misiorowski and Henderson are the two high-end starters they just didn't have at this time last year.

3. Other top NL teams are showing cracks

National League teams currently own five of the seven best records in baseball, though the other top NL contenders are not quite as imposing as they appear on paper. The Dodgers have been playing .500-ish ball for more than two months now and they have a few too many underperforming veterans in their lineup. There are nights that the two-time defending champions look old.

The Braves have a plethora of pitching injuries and their offense has been closer to league average the last few weeks, and much worse than that at times. The Phillies, with their powerhouse rotation, and the Cubs, with baseball's highest-scoring offense and best defense, might be the most dangerous NL teams in a short postseason series, and even they have concerns.

In a short series, any team can beat any team. Looking around the NL, the Brewers are trending up at a time when most of their competitors look a bit flat or are moving in the wrong direction. That doesn't ensure victory. It could mean the path through the NL is easier -- "easier" -- than it appears to be on paper. In October, you take any advantage you can get.