Road to the Postseason

The Brewers improbable fight back into playoff contention finds them 2.5 games out of the second Wild Card with 16 games remaining. The next 10, however, could decide their fate.

Beginning tonight at 6:05pm, the Crew begins a crucial, grueling 10 game road trip. Tonight is the first of three against the Pirates, who are tied in the standings with the Brewers at 2.5 games back. After three games in Pittsburgh, the Brewers play four against the NL best Washington Nationals and then three against the divisional leading Cincinnati Reds. For the Brewers to remain in contention, they will need to find at least seven wins on this road trip. They finish the year with the Astros and Padres at home.

The importance of the road trip is heightened when you examine other schedules. Only the Dodgers and the Cardinals (current Wild Card leaders) stand in the Brewers way. The Dodgers schedule is nearly identical to the Brewers. They will take on the Nationals, Reds, and Padres during a nine game road trip and finish the year with the Rockies and Giants. The incumbent Cardinals are a different story. They have nine games let with the Astros and Cubs and finish the year with Washington and Cincinnati at home. Their considerably easier schedule gives them a leg up and good chance to hold off the competition for the final Wild Card spot.

To recap:

Wild Card Contender	Brewers	Cardinals	Dodgers	Pirates
Opponent (number of games in series)	@Pittsburgh (3)	Houston (3)	@Washington (3)	Milwaukee (3)
	@Washington (4)	@Chicago Cubs(3)	@Cincinnati (3)	@Houston (3)
	@Cincinatti (3)	@Houston (3)	@San Diego (3)	@NYM (4)
	Houston (3)	Washington (3)	Colorado (3)	Cincinnati (3)
	San Diego (3)	Cincinatti (3)	San Francisco (3)	Atlanta (3)

I see each team finishing as follows:

Brewers: 9-7 (83-79)

Cardinals: 9-6 (86-76)

Dodgers: 6-9 (82-80)

Pirates: 6-10 (80-82)

The Cardinals have to be the favorite to hold on to the last spot. Whoever wins the Brewers/Pirates series will have the best chance to knock them out. The Dodgers have too difficult a schedule to make up ground like the other teams will. The standings will look like this at the end of the regular season:

Cardinals

Brewers

Dodgers

Pirates

The Brewers have relied on unknown pitching prospects during their run. If they can continue to get solid starts from guys like Fiers and Peralta and can maintain the consistency out of the bullpen, they'll have a shot. I believe that will unlikely, but we'll know for sure after this road trip.

Go Brewers!

-Zack

Follow us on Twitter @WisSportsPuls