I wouldn't dare to say that Milwaukee Brewers fans should root for the Chicago Cubs in the National League Wild Card Round, but there is reason to believe that Chicago winning its three-game series against the San Diego Padres is in the best interest of the team.
To put it simply, the Brewers dominated their rival Cubs this year, winning nine of their 13 matchups during the regular season, with a 59-41 record against their foe since the turn of the decade. Not to mention, Milwaukee took care of business against Chicago in last year's NLDS matchup.
While Chicago certainly has star power that raises its ceiling, it's also hard to deny that the team has a lower floor than that of the Padres. They stumbled to the finish line with an 11-13 record in the final month of the regular season and allowed the second-most home runs in the MLB this year. Their bullpen is in flux, with a limited pool of starters and unproven relievers who've given games away all year long.
So while the Cubs carry a 0-1 deficit into tonight's Game 2 of the Wild Card series with the Padres, they're the team Milwaukee should be rooting for to advance so they can squander their enemy's postseason hopes for the second time in as many years. However, there is a much greater threat to the Brewers looming in this conversation.
The Padres had the Brewers' number this season and are carrying momentum that Milwaukee doesn't want to deal with.
The San Diego Padres are no laughing matter. With 91 wins this season, San Diego had the fourth-best record in the National League and the sixth-best record in the MLB this season. They bring an elite bullpen into the postseason, led by their ace starter, Michael King, and arguably the best closer in baseball, Mason Miller.
Offensively, they're inconsistent, but have one of the highest aptitudes for home-run hitting in the MLB. They're also one of the hottest teams in the MLB, having won 14 of their last 16 games in the regular season to secure their place in the postseason. They demolished the Cubs 8-0 in their first game of the Wild Card series off a retro three-hit performance by Fernando Tatis Jr., with five different batters logging multiple hits.
Milwaukee lost four of its six outings against the Padres in the regular season, including a sweep on the road in August that was the catalyst for Milwaukee sealing the season series with the Dodgers soon after.
From an entertainment value standpoint, this series would be gold. But for a team that's trying to win its first World Series in franchise history, coming off the best regular season in franchise history, a face-off against these red-hot Padres would be a scary sight in the NLDS, making Chicago the obvious choice if the Brewers had a say in their next opponent.
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