A thrilling Labor Day victory pushes the Milwaukee Brewers toward a fourth straight division title.
A clutch Labor Day victory saw the Milwaukee Brewers' magic number to clinch the National League Central enter single digits.
After an incredible 4-3 victory against the Chicago Cubs, the new magic number for the team with the best record in all of baseball is nine.
For those who are unfamiliar, a magic number is constructed with any combination of Brewers wins or Cubs losses.
Knowing the Brewers have two more games against the Cubs, that means they could leave the series finale on Sept. 9 with the magic number as low as five, assuming they go 2-0 in that stretch.
Regardless, there are only 17 more games to go for the Brewers, so even if the Cubs wouldn't lose a game the rest of the way, Milwaukee just needs to go 9-8 to win their fourth straight division title.
Brewers' path to a fourth straight NL Central title
Milwaukee has had this division on lockdown since 2023, but obviously, they don't have anything to show for it.
Last year marked their first time in the NLCS since 2018, and it just so happens that the Los Angeles Dodgers have knocked them out on both occasions.
Here in 2026, things feel different. The Brewers also had the league's best record last year, and they used that to be rested and prepared to take down the Cubs in a thrilling NLDS.
When looking at the Brewers' schedule, they're entering a relatively easy portion, but they know they can't sleep on a few of these teams.
The Cincinnati Reds just won two out of three against Milwaukee, so the Brewers can't sleep on them when they come to American Family Field from Sept. 11-13.
Thankfully for the Brewers, this Cubs series ends a stretch of 16 games in 16 days, and then they're able to enjoy both September 10 and September 14 off.
From there, it's a three-team, nine-game road trip with one off day.
The Brewers will take on the 71-73 Pittsburgh Pirates and the 70-75 Baltimore Orioles before having September 21 off to prepare for a crucial three-game slate against the 81-63 Philadelphia Phillies.
Finally, they'll return home for the final series of the year against the 72-73 St. Louis Cardinals.
Knowing this Brewers team, all of these series are winnable, but they're not only fighting to hit that magic number, but manager Pat Murphy would love to go 11-6 the rest of the way to secure their first 100-win season in franchise history.
