Milwaukee Brewers should hope they avoid this team in the Wild Card round

The Milwaukee Brewers are on the verge of making the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.

The Chicago Cubs faded last week and the Crew’s magic number to clinch the NL Central is down to single-digits.

Outstanding starting pitching, great defense, and Tyrone Taylor hitting well at the bottom of the order has the Brewers ready to win their third NL Central division title in six years.

Taylor is hitting over .300 and slugging over .500 during his last 15 games.

Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta have nearly been unhittable. Manager Craig Counsell deserves a ton of credit for where the Brewers are at. Every figurative button he pushes gets results.

The offense still has its lulls, but the bats are getting timely hits. This team has no problem playing from behind.

There is a small chance the Brewers can still catch the Los Angeles Dodgers for the No. 2 seed and avoid having to play in the Wild Card round. The Dodgers would need to have an epic collapse these next two weeks for that to happen. The Brewers are destined to land as the No. 3 seed and host a best-of-three series at American Family Field.

Hopefully, the Brew Crew can avoid having to play the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks hold a slim lead over the Cubs, Reds, and Miami Marlins for the No. 5 seed. The Diamondbacks just swept the Cubs to put Chicago’s playoff hopes in peril.

Starting pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly have the stuff to counter Burnes and Woodruff.

They also have the ability to shut down the Crew’s offense. The Brewers have been getting beat lately when the lineup cannot produce runs.

Arizona won the season series 4-2, although that came during the first half.

The Diamondbacks offense is also statistically in the middle of the pack, whereas the Brewers are still at the league’s bottom.

Corbin Carroll is a problem at the plate and on the base path.

They also have the league’s best defense. Although, the team’s ERA is in the bottom 10.

They are just not a good matchup in a short series. If it did go to a third game, the Milwaukee Brewers can roll out Peralta. Arizona would have to counter with Brandon Pfaadt and his ERA, which is over five. So you feel comfortable if the series went to a Game 3.

The problem is the Diamondbacks have two starters to prevent that game from happening.

It does not mean Milwaukee is not capable of getting two victories in October over the D-backs. It is just going to be a grind to get them.