Crew awaits Wild Card opponent with race still undecided

MILWAUKEE – With all 162 of their regular-season games in the books, capped by Sunday’s 5-0 loss to the Mets, the Brewers still didn’t know who will be coming to American Family Field on Tuesday.

Whoever it is – it’s down to the D-backs or a return of the Mets – Milwaukee will be ready.

“Normally, this would be chaos getting everything together and preparing for different paths,” said Walker McKinven, whose title on the Major League coaching staff is run prevention coordinator. “But fortunately, we’ve played the Diamondbacks a lot recently, and the same thing with the Mets. I think we’re in a decent spot to be prepared for it.”

The Brewers have been preparing for multiple scenarios for weeks now, hoping the possibilities would narrow by the time their regular season came to a close. No such luck. On Sunday, the chaos scenario came to pass, with victories for the Mets in Milwaukee and the D-backs in Phoenix, and a Braves loss in Atlanta, meaning that all three teams were still alive in the chase for the final two Wild Card berths in the NL.

As a result, while the Brewers have a workout on Monday at American Family Field, the Braves and Mets must play both games of a doubleheader at Truist Park in Atlanta scheduled for 12:10 p.m. CT – a makeup of two games postponed last week when Hurricane Helene rumbled through Georgia.

• Dramatic doubleheader to decide final 2 NL Wild Card spots -- here's how

Here are the scenarios:

Braves and Mets split: The Braves, Mets and D-backs would all finish the regular season with 89-73 records, and it all comes down to the head-to-head records to break the tie. Since the Braves won their season series against the Mets and D-backs, and the Mets won their season series over the D-backs, the Braves are in as the NL’s No. 5 seed, the Mets get the No. 6 seed and head back to Milwaukee with what is left of their pitching to face the Brewers. The D-backs would be out.

Braves or Mets sweep: The team that sweeps the doubleheader finishes 90-72 and gets the No. 5 seed. The losing team finishes 88-74 and is out. The 89-73 D-backs, waiting in Phoenix with the engines running, get the No. 6 seed and head to Milwaukee for the NL Wild Card Series for the second straight season.

“It’s kind of weird, because in the years prior you knew who you were going to face in two days,” said shortstop Willy Adames, who has been part of the last three Brewers postseason qualifiers. “We’re still waiting. Whatever it is, we’re going to be here, ready to win.”

If it’s the D-backs, it would be a rematch in more ways than one. Not only did the Brewers draw Arizona in last year’s NL Wild Card Series, with Arizona sweeping the series and surging all the way to the World Series, the teams just played seven games in the past two weeks. The road team won both series but the Brewers came out on top overall, four games to three.

Since the D-backs’ pitching would be in much better shape than a Mets team coming off a doubleheader the day before, Brewers fans are surely rooting for Mets and Braves to split in Atlanta.

But Brewers coaches and players would never admit as much.

“We’re going to face one of the best teams in baseball, whoever it is, with a lot of firepower, with a guy on the mound who is good,” manager Pat Murphy said. “You can say, ‘Well, he only had [short rest], but at this time of year, you throw all that stuff out the window.

“It’s about being ready to play, and we’re going to play against somebody good, so buckle your chinstrap and let’s roll.”

Said Adames: “The postseason is like roulette. You never know who is going to get hot at the right time, and then after that, you can’t stop that team. Hopefully, that team is us.”

After giving the Mets trouble in the first two games of the final regular-season series, the Brewers didn’t play a particularly good finale. They were shut out on three hits by David Peterson and the Mets’ bullpen, and fell into a 1-0 hole in the first inning and a 3-0 hole by the fifth with right-hander Colin Rea fighting to the finish of what has been a trying September in which he posted an 8.31 ERA.

Because Rea threw 106 pitches, he’s probably off the roster for the NL Wild Card Series. But in getting the Brewers to the sixth inning before Hoby Milner and DL Hall finished the game, Rea helped preserve the rest of the staff for Tuesday.

“He’s been a team guy all year,” Murphy said. “We don’t have the success we’ve had without Colin Rea.”

If the Brewers advance, Rea could contribute either as a starter or a reliever.

First, the Brewers need a first-round opponent.

“We can’t worry too much about who we’re going to play,” Murphy said. “The bottom line is we’ve got to play and be ready ourselves.”