ST. LOUIS – The Milwaukee Brewers Reconstruction Project, which for all intents and purposes ended last season, officially ended Wednesday night.

Keeping the 2-1 win against the St. Louis Cardinals, who have completed three games at Busch Stadium, the Brewers have secured their first playoff spot since winning the NL Central title in 2011.

The highlight set the Brewers' record at 16-7 in September and 22-9 in their last 31 games.

The Brewers then celebrated with champagne in the club but were not happy to settle for a spot in NL's wild card game. Brewers remain half-game behind divisional Cubs after Chicago 7-6 in 10 innings Wednesday. As the Brewers pull out Thursday, the Cubs – who also clinched a playoff spot – complete a four-game home series against Pittsburgh and Trevor Williams' ace.

"We are very lucky, tomorrow is a day off," said Ryan Braun in the clubhouse visiting champagne and beer at Busch Stadium. "Logistically, it works really well. Everyone can celebrate. We still have 48 hours before playing another baseball game.

"Everyone should enjoy it, kiss. Just enjoy the moment. It's an amazing achievement and everyone has contributed to it. "

As the only active player in the Brewers' final playoff team, Braun knew better than anyone how difficult it is to reach the playoffs. Milwaukee's task was made more difficult by scrapping the team in 2015 and initiating a large-scale rebuilding plan that took several years to get back to that stage.

"It's amazing," said Braun. "What we have accomplished is not something you see with other organizations. We have never really experienced a significant downturn for most teams as they go through a major phase of rebuilding and re-equipment.

Historical perspective: Where is Yelich's season in the history of Brewers?

Chaos of the National League: Wild card could go down to two powers

Wrestled key player: The status of the playoffs of the Braves in the short term is not clear

"Obviously, the front office deserves a ton of credit. (Main owner) Mark Attanasio deserves a ton of credit. They have touched virtually all the free agent acquisitions and the important trade they have achieved. I just hope it's the first celebration and not the last one.

In other words, brewers have problems to solve. A joker-like spot beats at home for the winter, but they would like to win the division and avoid this win-win home game.

The Brewers finish the season with a weekend series at Miller Park against the Detroit Tigers, as the Cubs finish at home against the Cardinals.

"Winning the division would be huge," said Braun. "The game of wild cards, no matter how good, is always a game of change. We have to take care of business and keep winning games, and we hope to find a way to win the division. "

Follow Tom Haudricourt from The Sentinel Milwaukee Journal on Twitter @Haudricourt.

Automatic reading

Thumbnails poster

Show captions

Last slide next