Yelich sums up the twists, turns and countless story lines that go into a single season
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich sums up the twists, turns and countless story lines that go into a single baseball season.
ST. LOUIS — The numbers on the ledger above the right-center patio at Busch Stadium weren’t kind to the Milwaukee Brewers, displaying a 5-1 St. Louis Cardinals win.
But that wasn’t the only scoreboard that mattered Sept. 21.
As soon as Pete Crow-Armstrong struck out to cap a Cincinnati Reds four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs, the Brewers popped corks, unscrewed caps and clinched a division.
For the third year in a row, the kings of the National League Central reside in Milwaukee.
BOX SCORE: Cardinals 5, Brewers 1
This time, unlike last year, a division title didn’t always seem in the cards. Preseason projections and prognostications had the Brewers taking a step back from their 93-win season, then those seemed to be prudent calls as the team got off to a 25-28 start and trailed by the Cubs by 6½ games.
In the blink of an eye, Milwaukee went from stumbling to scorching. The club found its mojo on an eight-game winning streak into the first week of June. Next came an 11-game streak in July. Almost immediately after they rattled off 14 wins in a row, setting a franchise mark with one magical moment after another.
Since then, it’s been .500 ball for the Brewers, which was all they needed to still run away with the Central.
It’s the seventh full-season division title in franchise history, five of which have come since 2018, which serves as a reminder of how remarkable this modern stretch has been for the Brewers.
St. Louis pushes the lead to four against Erick Fedde
Facing the team that he began the season with, Erick Fedde had two leadoff walks backfire on him in the fourth when Jose Fermin plated both with a double to left that turned it into a 4-0 Cardinals lead.
The Brewers finally got one back in the fifth when Joey Ortiz tripled for his first extra-base hit since Aug. 12 and scored on a sac fly, but they ultimately stranded nine runners.
Ivan Herrera puts the Cardinals in front with homer
A tale as old as time in baseball: The Brewers squandered an excellent scoring chance in the top of the third and the Cardinals immediately made them pay for it.
After Andrew Vaughn struck out and Rhys Hoskins grounded out with the bases loaded, Cardinals designated hitter Ivan Herrera did what Milwaukee couldn’t and kicked off the scoring with a two-run tape-measure blast off Robert Gasser, making his first start of the year after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The third inning was the end of the line for Gasser, who was always going to have a shorter start. The Herrera homer was the one hit he allowed, while he also walked two, hit one and struck out two.
What time is the Brewers game today?
Time: 1:15 p.m.
What channel is the Brewers game on tonight?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin.
Brewers 2025 record
95-61 (best in the major leagues, seven-game lead in the National League Central Division).
Brewers magic number
The Brewers magic number to clinch the NL Central is a combination or one win and/or Cubs loss. Chicago lost, 6-3, on Sept. 20.
Brewers lineupJackson Chourio RFIsaac Collins LFAndrew Vaughn 1BRhys Hoskins DHCaleb Durbin 3BAndruw Monasterio 2BDanny Jansen CBlake Perkins CFJoey Ortiz SSCardinals lineupThomas Saggese SSIvan Herrera DHAlec Burleson 1BLars Nootbaar LFJordan Walker RFNolan Gorman 2BJose Fermin 2BJimmy Crooks CVictor Scott II