Milwaukee Brewers Clinch The 3rd NL Central Title In Franchise History

The Milwaukee Brewers are your 2021 NL Central Division Champions.

It took a few more days than expected, but the Brewers clinched their 3rd NL Central title in the last 11 seasons and just their 4th division title in franchise history.

On the day Ryan Braun officially announced his retirement in a pregame ceremony that brought tears to the eyes of the 43,430 in attendance, the Brewers scored 8 runs on 8 hits to beat the Mets and clinch the division. No. 8 played key roles in the clinching of the two previous division titles and on the day they celebrate him, they put eight on the board. It was perfect.

Freddy Peralta got the start on the mound for the Crew and things didn't look so good in the top of the first inning as Peralta allowed a solo home run to Francisco Lindor and got into some trouble. But he got out of a jam and kept it a 1-0 deficit.

That deficit would not last long as leadoff man Kolten Wong drew a walk and then Willy Adames, as he's done so many times this season, blasted a huge home run to left field to give the Crew a 2-1 lead.

The Brewers would load the bases in the second inning for Christian Yelich. He grounded out first, which wasn't ideal, but it got a run home for a 3-1 lead and kept the inning going for Eduardo Escobar. Escobar came through with a line drive 2 RBI single to extend the Brewers lead to 5-1.

The Mets would make it interesting though, as Javier Baez slugged a 2 RBI double of his own in the fourth inning off Peralta and cut it to a 5-3 ballgame. Then in the 6th, after Freddy Peralta was pulled for Brent Suter, Kevin Pillar dumped in a bloop single to score another run and the Mets were within one run.

Milwaukee would answer right back in the bottom of the 6th. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, Willy Adames hit a ground ball to third base. Despite a pitcher in Eric Lauer running home from 3rd, Mets third baseman and former Brewer Jonathan Villar opted not to throw home and instead threw to first, but the throw was wide and went into right field, allowing Adames to head to 2nd.

After a Yelich shallow flyout, Escobar was up again and he hit a ground ball and Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor made a low throw that Pete Alonso couldn't pick at first, which allowed two more runs to score and the Brewers pushed their lead to 8-4.

The bullpen took it the rest of the way, with Aaron Ashby, Devin Williams, and Josh Hader locking it down in the final three innings to secure the victory and the NL Central title.

Next up, the Brewers will face the red hot Cardinals in St. Louis starting on Tuesday. The Redbirds have won 16 straight games.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content