The moments the Brewers clinched a playoff berth throughout history

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The Milwaukee Brewers are about to win their fourth National League Central Division title in a row, and they already know they're headed to the playoffs for the eighth time in nine years.

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They wrapped up a playoff berth with a 20-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 11, marking the earliest clinch date on the calendar in franchise history.

Take a look at all the champagne celebration moments in Brewers history:

1981: Rollie Fingers strikes out Lou Whitaker, and the Brewers win the East second-half title

The format was strange in a season divided by a players' strike, but it was no less meaningful when the Brewers qualified for the playoffs for the first time as American League East champions in the second half.

Rollie Fingers struck out Lou Whitaker of the Detroit Tigers on the penultimate day of the season (Oct. 3), giving Milwaukee a 2-1 win and a voyage to the Division Series against the New York Yankees — a format far more familiar today than it was then.

The Brewers rallied for two runs in the eighth on RBIs by Ted Simmons and Gorman Thomas to get the lead, and Fingers struck out Champ Summers and Whitaker in a 1-2-3 ninth to end it.

1982: Last stand against the Orioles results in East title

Is it the most famous regular-season series in Brewers history?

Milwaukee came to Baltimore needing just one win in four tries to officially clinch the American League East over the Orioles. But the Brewers lost the first three games in rapid succession, suddenly creating a winner-take-all battle on the final day of the season — another Oct. 3.

But Don Sutton, the team's dynamite August acquisition, threw eight strong innings and the Brewers pulled away for a 10-2 victory, although it took five runs in the top of the ninth to make it a sure thing. Ben Oglivie made an unforgettable sliding catch in the left field corner, Robin Yount homered twice against fellow Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, and the Brewers were off to the playoffs — in a more traditional format this time — en route to the World Series.

2008: CC Sabathia, obviously

Who doesn't remember this drought-snapping performance? After 26 years without appearing in the playoffs, the Brewers knew they had a chance coming into the final game of the season Sept. 28. CC Sabathia capped his unforgettable half-season in Milwaukee with a complete-game performance, and Ryan Braun homered in the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie against the Chicago Cubs.

Then, when the New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins on the same day, the Brewers had a National League wild card.

2011: Ryan Braun's home run gives Brewers division title

For the first time since 1982, the Brewers had won a division crown. Facing Florida on Sept. 23, Braun broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run homer in the eighth inning, then lifted his bat to the sky as the Brewers plowed toward a 4-1 victory. That same night, the St. Louis Cardinals took a surprising loss to the struggling Cubs despite ace Chris Carpenter on the hill, giving Milwaukee the crown.

The Cardinals, who finished the year six games behind the Brewers, would still win the wild card and go on to win the World Series, however, taking down the Brewers in a six-game National League Championship Series.

2018 (part 1): Adolis García falls down

He's an all-star outfielder now, but Adolis García was a young Cardinals prospect in 2018 when he was called upon as a pinch runner in the eighth inning, with the Brewers leading, 2-1, in a Sept. 26 game and needing a victory to clinch a playoff spot.

José Martínez hit a slow roller to third and Mike Moustakas' throw bounced past first baseman Jesús Aguilar, giving García a chance to score. But he fell down between third and home, allowing catcher Erik Kratz to tag him out easily. Jeremy Jeffress worked a 1-2-3 ninth, and the Brewers were back in the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

2018 (part 2): Game 163 in Chicago ends in triumph

That win over the Cardinals was the Brewers' fourth in a row; they then won the next three and forced a one-game playoff with the Chicago Cubs for the National League Central championship. Then, they won a ninth, taking Wrigley Field by storm with a 3-1 win, bolstered by eighth-inning RBI singles from Lorenzo Cain and Braun.

2019: A win in Cincinnati makes it back-to-back

It might have been somewhat unceremonious when Milwaukee won over the Reds at Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark, 9-2, for a win that assured the Brewers of back-to-back playoff trips.

Braun, Eric Thames and Keston Hiura homered in the Sept. 25 win that kept Milwaukee alive in the National League Central chase, too, though the Brewers would get swept in Colorado on the final weekend of the season and settle for the wild card. Milwaukee lost to the Washington Nationals in that game in a famous 4-3 heartbreaker.

2020: Ending with a whimper but, hey, it counts

Playing in the supremely weird COVID-influenced format of a 60-game season and a 16-team postseason, the Brewers advanced to the playoffs in a way befitting of their season, with losses by other teams and no true celebration.

The Brewers never got above .500 all season and entered the postseason at 29-31, with a two-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers to follow.

Milwaukee lost its final game of the season to St. Louis, 5-2, before an empty Busch Stadium, but shortly after the game ended, the San Francisco Giants also lost to San Diego (5-4) and the Philadelphia Phillies lost to the Tampa Bay Rays (5-0), giving the Brewers the tiebreaker nudge to advance.

Brandon Woodruff did pitch a masterpiece against St. Louis the day before, allowing two hits over eight innings in a 3-0 win to help propel Milwaukee onward.

2021 (part 1): More business just ahead ... but also a bit of a wait

There's not much remarkable about a 6-4 win over the Cubs on Sept. 18, other than two home runs by Manny Piña and five strikeouts combined over two innings from Devin Williams and Josh Hader. The Brewers didn't even celebrate afterward, with a magic number of three to win the division.

But then came the wait. The Cardinals were in the midst of a 17-game winning streak and the Brewers lost five straight to drag it out. Finally, after Milwaukee swept the Mets, it would have the division, too.

2021 (part 2): A sweep against the Mets held off hard-charging Cardinals

The Cardinals had come roaring back into the National League Central picture, trimming a deficit of 15 games to six. But the Brewers still had the upper hand and sealed it with an 8-4 win at home against the Mets, locking up a third National League Central crown Sept. 26.

Willy Adames hit a two-run homer in the first and Eduardo Escobar delivered a two-run single in the second, setting up a strong finish from the Brewers bullpen of Aaron Ashby, Williams and Hader, who teamed to allow just one hit in three innings, with five strikeouts.

2023 (part 1): An unlikely pitcher for the final outs

After a 12-run inning in the second made it a laugher, the Brewers coasted to a 16-1 win over the Miami Marlins to lock up a playoff spot.

First baseman Rowdy Tellez became the unlikely pitcher for the final three outs, getting a strikeout and two pop-outs in his first career pitching performance.

2023 (part 2): Chicago's collapse is Milwaukee's gain

The Brewers took an unceremonious 4-1 loss to the Cardinals at American Family Field, but the club partied in the clubhouse thereafter, with a Cubs loss locking up the NL Central division.

With the game on the field becoming a bit of a bore, fans turned attention to their cell phones as the Cubs experienced a surreal meltdown in Atlanta. The Braves had rallied from a 6-0 deficit to pull to within 6-5 in the seventh inning and, with two outs in the eighth, Seiya Suzuki dropped a routine fly ball in right field off the bat of Sean Murphy that allowed the tying and eventual winning runs to score.

More: Error that clinches division for Brewers brings back memories of another dropped fly ball involving Cubs

2024: Walk-off winner adds flavor to clinch earlier in the day

The Brewers knew they had wrapped up the National League Central before their game against Philadelphia on Sept. 18 even started; Chicago's loss to Oakland earlier in the day meant the Brewers were officially in.

The champagne celebration, however, would wait until after that evening's game, and that provided the Brewers another big thing to celebrate.

Jake Bauers' line drive into the corner easily scored rookie phenom Jackson Chourio from third base to give the Brewers a taut 2-1 win over the Phillies. Chourio, just 20 years old, had tripled leading off the inning and returned to his locker to find a stroller full of non-alcoholic options for the party.

2025 (part 1): Monasterio's walk-off winner caps clinching day

The Brewers already knew they were playoff-bound when their game with the St. Louis Cardinals started on Sept. 13, but they added a thriller for the nightcap and 91st win of the season. The Brewers scored twice in the eighth, three times in the ninth to force extras, then twice more in the 10th to overcome a St. Louis run in the top half for a 9-8 win. Andruw Monasterio's single on the 10th pitch of his at-bat brought in the winning run. It was the earliest on the calendar that the Brewers had clinched a playoff berth.

2025 (part 2): Champagne in St. Louis after a loss

The Brewers fell to the host St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 21, 5-1, but that didn't stop the Brewers from having a party, celebrating a third straight division title after the Cubs took a 1-0 loss the same day.

The Brewers would go on to face the Cubs in the National League Division Series and win an epic battle in five games.

2026 (part 1, we presume): A 20-0 rampage

The Brewers secured a playoff spot earlier than ever, and more convincingly than ever. Facing the Reds at American Family Field on Sept. 11, Milwaukee cruised to a 20-0 blowout victory, a game that might be oddly remembered for a defensive play with Luis Lara's remarkable homer-saving catch.

Dustin May pitched six strong innings, Garrett Stallings hilariously recorded a three-inning save in a game decided by 20 runs and Garrett Mitchell hit the team's first grand slam of the season.

The Brewers may have deployed fireworks during the game in running up the score, but they didn't celebrate afterward, waiting for the divisional clinch that looked in hand.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The moments the Brewers clinched a playoff berth throughout history

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