The 2018 National League Central tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2018 regular season, played between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs to determine the champion of the National League's (NL) Central Division. It was played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois on October 1, 2018.
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Date | October 1, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Venue | Wrigley Field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
City | Chicago, Illinois | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Umpires | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 38,450 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Television | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TV announcers | Karl Ravech, Eduardo Pérez, Tim Kurkjian, and Buster Olney | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Radio | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Radio announcers | Jason Benetti and Chris Singleton |
The Brewers won, 3–1, and became the top seed in the NL playoffs. The Cubs hosted the NL West runner-up Colorado Rockies in the NL Wild Card Game on October 2, with the Rockies winning 2–1 in 13 innings to advance to face the Brewers in the National League Division Series.[1][2]
The Cubs and Brewers ended the 2018 season tied for the division lead and the NL's best win–loss record at 95–67 (.586), thereby guaranteeing that whoever lost would host the Wild Card Game two days later.[3] The tie-breaker was counted as a regular season game for both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics.[4][5] October 1 also marked the first time two division tie-breakers had been played in a single season.[6]
Chicago had won two consecutive National League Central Division championships,[9] and were expected to win a third-consecutive division title.[10][11] The Milwaukee Brewers finished 2017 six games back of the Cubs, despite leading the 2017 division race by 5.5 games at the All-Star break. Milwaukee's last playoff appearance was its 2011 division title.[12]
To challenge for the 2018 division, the Brewers made several key offseason acquisitions, among them starter Jhoulys Chacin, former Kansas City Royal Lorenzo Cain and then-Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich.[13] The Cubs' high-profile[14][15] offseason acquisitions, Yu Darvish and Brandon Morrow, were lost to injury during the season,[16][17][18] and both missed the tie-breaker game.
Milwaukee emerged from a crowded early division race on May 18. Chicago took the division lead from the Brewers on July 14 and maintained sole possession of first place until falling to a third-place St. Louis club at home in the penultimate game of the season.[19] Chicago had surged out of the All-Star break to a five-game lead over the Brewers lead on September 2, but Milwaukee put together a 19–7 September record[20] that included four wins over the Cubs in nine days.
The Brewers ended the season on an 8-game win streak,[21] while the Cubs won their final game 10–5 over the Cards to force the tiebreaker.[22] The Cubs won the right to host the tie-breaker with an 11–8 head-to-head record against the Brewers.[22]
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Milwaukee Brewers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Chicago Cubs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
WP: Corey Knebel (4–3) LP: Justin Wilson (4–5) Sv: Josh Hader (12) Home runs: MIL: None CHI: Anthony Rizzo (25) Attendance: 38,450 Boxscore |
José Quintana started for Chicago,[26] and Jhoulys Chacín started for Milwaukee.[27] ESPN broadcast the game, with Karl Ravech, Eduardo Pérez, Tim Kurkjian, and Buster Olney. The game was also broadcast on ESPN Radio, with Jason Benetti and Chris Singleton.[28][29]
Christian Yelich had a run batted in (RBI) single for the Brewers in the third inning. Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs tied the game with a home run in the fifth inning, the first hit the Cubs had off of Chacín.[30] Lorenzo Cain and Ryan Braun of the Brewers added RBI singles in the eighth inning. Orlando Arcia had his first career four hit game and scored two of Milwaukee's runs.[31]
With the win, the Brewers extended their regular-season win streak to 9 and qualified for home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. Finishing one loss behind the Brewers, the Cubs hosted the 2018 NL Wild Card Game and the NL West runner-up Rockies the following day. Colorado defeated the Cubs in 13 innings.[2] It was Chicago's first opening-round exit since the Dodgers swept the Cubs in the 2008 NLDS.[b]
Milwaukee swept the Rockies in the NLDS,[34] but their win streak ended at 14 in the NLCS when the Dodgers beat Milwaukee 4–3 on October 13, the Brewers' first loss in 27 days.[35] L.A. would win the NL pennant at Miller Park in seven games.[36]
Yelich won the NL MVP over Baez, who finished in second. Both men won Silver Slugger awards[37][38] and finished as Gold Glove runners up[39] at their respective positions. Rizzo, Cain, Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw and Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward were also Gold Glove runners up. Brewers manager Craig Counsell would finish second in NL Manager of the Year voting, losing to Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker.[40]
This game, along with the NL West tie-breaker game, were the last such tie-breaker games in Major League Baseball, as the league eliminated this scenario starting with the 2022 season. All ties in the standings would be broken through various formulas.[41]
Moustakas was in the lineup and took time to greet old friend Lorenzo Cain, who signed with Milwaukee as a free agent last winter.
The Cubs should probably win the NL Central again this year, and they should probably win it by a fairly comfortable (let's say at least 5-ish games?) margin.
there's no reason to think they won't be in the mix for another title this year
Stearns added veterans Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich last offseason
Darvish headlines the group...
Brandon Morrow was the definition of "sparkle and fade" during his time with the Cubs, starting the first half of 2018 as a dominant closer before a string of injuries prevented him from ever pitching again.
This led to the Brewers finishing September with a NL best 19–7 record.
As of 2019, the July 31 Trade Deadline is the only trade deadline.
...topping Javy Baez and Nolan Arenado. Yelich received 29 of 30 first-place votes.
Starting in 2012, the two wild-card teams from each league play each other in a single-game playoff the day after the regular season ends.