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NL Wild Card Race 2019: Breaking down the remaining contenders

By Joshua Sadlock

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 06: Jose Quintana #62 of the Chicago Cubs is removed by manager Joe Maddon, during the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field on June 06, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 06: Jose Quintana #62 of the Chicago Cubs is removed by manager Joe Maddon, during the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field on June 06, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – SEPTEMBER 08: Christian Yelich #22 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with teammates after scoring a run in the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Miller Park on September 08, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – SEPTEMBER 08: Christian Yelich #22 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with teammates after scoring a run in the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Miller Park on September 08, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

3. Milwaukee Brewers (2.0 games back)

The Milwaukee Brewers have chopped back and forth, playing .500 baseball for the better part of the last four months but are getting hot at the right time. The Brew Crew has won four in a row and six of their last eight to keep their playoff hopes alive. All in all, it has been a disappointing year for Milwaukee, who had hoped to build on last year’s trip to the NLCS. There’s still a chance to salvage it and not waste Christian Yelich’s second straight MVP-caliber season.

Many of the perceived issues the Brewers were able to overcome last year have reared their ugly heads this season. Outside of Yelich, there has been no real consistency from the lineup. The Brewers are tenth in the NL in runs scored despite being fourth in home runs. It’s almost unthinkable that a team could give Travis Shaw, who has an OPS+ of 40 this year, 250 plate appearances and still contend for a playoff spot. Ryan Braun has been on a tear in the second half but has tailed off in September. Lorenzo Cain, on the other hand, has hit .368 in the first week-plus of the month. If Braun and Cain can both get hot at the same time, the Brewers will do enough damage to stay in the race until the final days of the season.

As hit-or-miss as the Brewers lineup has been, their pitching staff has been even worse. Milwaukee’s rotation has struggled to make it through five innings and turn the ball over the a lockdown bullpen like last year. Even stellar Josh Hader has seen a drop in performance as he keeps being worked hard. Craig Counsell just has to hope his staff can hold the opponent to four or five runs a night.

The scheduling gods have been very kind to the Brewers, who play only three games the rest of the way against a winning team. If they can feast on the likes of the Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, and the Cubs and Cardinals play themselves to a draw in their seven remaining matchups, then that two-game deficit looks like nothing.

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