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CHICAGO – Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee brewers dominated the center of the NL for much of the first half of the season. Then Anthony Rizzo and the Chicago Cubs took the lead in what could be the best baseball division.
Then Yelich fed the brewers at an extra charge.
So of course, it's going to be extra sleeves.
Milwaukee will travel to Chicago on Monday for the first decisive game in the history of the major leagues in which the loser will not return home. The winner goes to Division Series, the loser of Tuesday's game against the NL West tie-break loser on Monday between Colorado and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"Just like the last two weeks, we have tackled almost all of these games as a game to play," said Brewers batter Ryan Braun. "Tomorrow it will not be different. Obviously, it will be a difficult place for us to win but we play good baseball and if we go and do the things we have done in the last two weeks, we will forget where we are. "
The winner at Wrigley Field has the field advantage in the playoffs in Newfoundland, starting with a series of divisions on Thursday against the winner.
"We put ourselves in a position to win a game to win the division and take a few days off," Rizzo said after the 10-5 win over St. Louis on Sunday. "If we win, we will be delighted. If we lose, we have already played more games in a row, so we will be ready to play. "
Chicago had a five-game lead on September 2, but Milwaukee has won seven straight games and nine of 10 overall to finish with a 95-67 record. Yelich led the way by climbing to the top of NL's MVP chat and bidding for the Triple Crown by hitting .383 with 13 home runs and 42 RBIs in his last 30 games.
"We have to be ready to go," Yelich said. "They are an excellent team. We quarreled all year. It is only natural that we should do one more.
Cubs tested in the playoffs are attempting to win their third consecutive NL Central title. They played 11-8 against the Brewers this season, but lost two of three goals in each of their two playoffs in September.
In anticipation of a decisive start, Chicago asked Jose Quintana to rest regularly. The southpaw is 6-2 with a 1.60 ERA in 10 starts against Milwaukee.
"He played very well against us all year," Yelich said. "I'm sure they know it. We know that. It's going to boil down to an execution like he did all year. It should be fun.
Milwaukee has not announced a coach, but the Brewers affair could be the biggest concern of the Cubs.
"The key is getting up early and staying ahead is the big thing," said Chicago manager Joe Maddon. "To stay out of the beefier part of their paddock too, they are very good."
Associated Press writers Joe Totoraitis and Rich Rovito in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
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