Wild finishes set up unique playoff slate
Christian Yelich and the Brewers got off to a ragged start this year. They never got above .500. And they dropped their last game to finish with a losing record.
Guess what? They’re going to the playoffs.
“Weird. I guess that’s the only way to describe it. It’s fitting for 2020,” Yelich said Sunday.
A pandemic-altered, 60-game regular season that many believed would never get completed and saw games postponed because of virus outbreaks, racial injustice protests and a hurricane went into the final day without a single playoff matchup set.
Then, in a flurry and fury, the entire, expanded 16-team postseason field was full.
The AL starts Tuesday and the NL gets going Wednesday. That’s when the Brewers, at 29-31, open their series against Dodgers ace Walker Buehler in Los Angeles.
In a win-and-you’re-in game, the Cardinals clinched by beating the Brewers, 5-2. But Milwaukee also made it with the last wild-card spot when the Giants lost 5-4 to the Padres.
Yelich, the former MVP who hit .205 this year after winning the last two NL batting titles, and the Brewers happily posed for a team picture in their playoff-clinch T-shirts on the Busch Stadium field.
The Astros and first-year manager Dusty Baker also are in at 29-31. Houston got its spot by finishing second in the AL West, drawing an automatic berth.
The only other team in major league history to reach the playoffs with a losing record was the 1981 Royals — at 50-53 overall, they made it by winning the second half in a strike-split season.
“It’s a celebration. We’re in. We’re in the playoffs. That’s how you see it,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “There’s no reason to apologize for getting into the playoffs.
“The record’s kind of irrelevant in my opinion.”
Yadier Molina and the Cardinals claimed their spot despite missing 2 ¹/2 weeks in August after the club was hit by a virus outbreak. St. Louis played a total of 58 games — it was prepared for a doubleheader in Detroit on Monday if needed to settle the playoff picture.
“You had to throw some of the expectations out the window not knowing what to expect after taking those couple weeks off and all those doubleheaders and so many new guys,” Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said. “It was very different, very fulfilling to make the playoffs.”
All matchups are best-of-three, with every game hosted by the top seed in ballparks without fans. With no days off, pitching strategies will be paramount, particularly how managers use their bullpens. Following the wild-card rounds, the remaining clubs will move to neutralsite bubbles in Texas and Southern California to crown a champion.
The biggest losers Sunday were the Phillies and the Giants. As it turned out, either team would’ve gotten in with a win.
“It’s tough sitting here and not thinking [about the playoffs],” Phillies slugger Bryce Harper said after a 5-0 loss at the Rays. “We had opportunities to win games and we just didn’t get it done.”
October on deck means the end of seven-inning games and no more automatic runners at second base to begin the 10th, but other new rules implemented this season apply: designated hitters in the National League and relievers must face three batters or end the inning.
Nothing else kooky in this 16team tournament, though. Like, no penalty at-bats to decide extra long games.
“It’s going to be wild,” Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier said, “everything about it.”