NL Central:
Brewers beat Chicago to win their first division title since 2011.
CHICAGO — Christian Yelich’s easy smile and Champagne-soaked shirt said it all.
A division title is much more fun than a Triple Crown.
Yelich collected three hits as the Brewers won their first NL Central title since 2011, beating the Cubs 3-1 on Monday in a tiebreaker game. The silkysmooth outfielder stalled in his bid for the league’s first Triple Crown in decades, but he delivered again as the Brew Crew captured the biggest prize of the day.
“I know how hard it is to get to this point, and I’m proud to be a part of this group,” Yelich said amid the party in the visitors’ clubhouse at Wrigley Field.
Lorenzo Cain hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning to help Milwaukee to its eighth straight win and home field through the NL playoffs. The Brewers will host either the Rockies or Cubs starting Thursday in the best-of-five Division Series.
Chicago stays at Wrigley for Tuesday night’s wild-card game. The Cubs will face Colorado, which lost to the Dodgers 5-2.
It’s a quick turnaround, but the Cubs will have left-hander Jon Lester (18-6) on the mound for the elimination game.
“We’ll be ready. This team has responded all year,” said Anthony Rizzo, who homered for Chicago’s run.
Yelich singled home Milwaukee’s first run and won the NL batting title with a .326 average. He had 110 RBIs, one behind the Cubs’ Javier Baez, and finished with 36 home runs — Colorado’s Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story each homered in the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium. Arenado finished with 38 homers, Story 37.
Joe Medwick in 1937 was the last NL player to win the Triple Crown. Miguel Cabrera did it for Detroit in 2012.
Milwaukee trailed Chicago by as many as five games in September, but manager Craig Counsell’s club pushed the season to an extra day with a furious finish and then used its deep lineup and bullpen to outlast the Cubs.
“It just shows the heart and the mentality that this team has,” Cain said. “Never give up.”
Orlando Arcia, batting in the eighth slot, had a career-high four hits, and Josh Hader closed out another dominant relief performance for the Brewers with two scoreless innings.
“All the guys in the ’pen, they’re attacking the zone and putting us in a good position to win ballgames,” Hader said.
Jose Quintana pitched six-hit ball into the sixth inning and Rizzo homered, but Chicago’s bullpen faltered at a key moment. Daniel Murphy and Baez had the other hits for the Cubs.
The game was tied 1-1 before Milwaukee opened the eighth with three hits. Arcia singled on a 0-2 pitch from Justin Wilson (4-5), Domingo Santana had a pinch-hit double and Cain greeted Steve Cishek with a single back up the middle.
After Yelich struck out swinging — a rare occurrence for the NL MVP favorite — Ryan Braun got the Brewers an insurance run with a single to center.
Rizzo had one last chance for Chicago, but he flied to right with Baez on second for the final out.