Who will the Brewers play in the playoffs? Break down all scenarios

One hundred and sixty two up. One hundred and sixty two down.

And yet the Milwaukee Brewers still don’t know who they will play in their 163rd game.

The Brewers ended the regular season with a 5-0 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday afternoon at American Family Field, a result that was largely inconsequential for Milwaukee but crucial for the visitors.

The Mets desperately needed a win on Sunday after faltering for a week at the end of the regular season. There was a scenario with a win over the Brewers and a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks that would have secured the Mets a playoff spot, but most importantly, they simply had to win a game in the series with Milwaukee.

BOX score:Mets 5, Brewers 0

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It turned out that both teams had won, leading to a chaos scenario – one in which the Brewers wouldn’t know their wild-card opponent until Monday night.

Let’s break down where things stand and what impact they have on the Brewers.

Who will the Brewers play in the first round?

Since Hurricane Helene postponed the final two games of the Mets’ series with the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park last week, the two teams will play a doubleheader in Atlanta on Monday, leaving open the possibility that New York will have to fly back to Milwaukee a little more than 24 hours after leaving The Good Land.

With the Braves losing on Sunday and both the Mets and Diamondbacks winning, that leaves three possible scenarios relevant to the Brewers.

If the Braves win the doubleheader, they will enter the playoffs as the second wild card and face San Diego, while the Diamondbacks receive the final wild card and play against Milwaukee.

If the Mets beat the Braves, they will be the second wild card and Arizona will play the Brewers.

If the Mets and Braves split the doubleheader, the Mets return to Milwaukee while the Braves play the Padres.

A split seems to be the most likely scenario, and not just because the teams are fairly evenly matched. Whichever team wins the front end of Monday’s doubleheader will have no incentive to win the second game other than knocking out a division rival, which likely won’t be enough to outweigh the need to set up its pitching and rest its key players.

The Desperate Mets have an early lead against Colin Rea

The Mets looked like a desperate team from the start, with Francisco Lindor immediately taking second on an RBI single by Brandon Nimmo off Colin Rea in the first inning.

They extended that lead to 3-0 after Francisco Alvarez and Lindor hit run-scoring singles in the fourth.

It was clear from the jump that Colin Rea’s sole purpose on the mound for the Brewers was to win innings on Sunday. When the Mets loaded the bases with one out to score a run in the fifth, the bullpen remained inactive.

Rea stayed in the game for the sixth time as Lindor led off the inning with a solo home run. Ultimately, he allowed 10 hits and five runs over 5 2/3 with a walk, hit batter and five strikeouts.

Willy Adames leaves to an ovation

Willy Adames played what was likely his final regular season game with the Brewers and was removed from the game by manager Pat Murphy with one out in the start of the seventh inning, allowing the shortstop to receive an ovation from the American Family Field crowd.

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