Craig Counsell knows how to get a team into October. Over the past five seasons, the Brewers’ manager has led his team to a September winning percentage of .603. Only the Dodgers (.713), Rays (.629) and Astros (.619) have been better closers in that time. Milwaukee has reached the postseason four straight seasons.
But this time the numbers appear stacked against Milwaukee. The Brewers have 21 games to run down either the Padres (down two games in the loss column) or Phillies (four games) for a wild-card spot. Might as well add one more game to those deficits because Milwaukee lost the season series to San Diego and Philadelphia, so the Brewers lose on both tiebreakers.
The tiebreak against the Padres was decided June 5 when Counsell did not bring back one-inning specialist Josh Hader to pitch the 10th after a 15-pitch ninth inning. Jake Cronenworth homered off Trevor Gott for the decisive Padres win.
