Brewers must shed record-matching losing streak before potential NLCS matchup

On the surface, Tuesday night's Game 3 loss to the San Diego Padres doesn't seem all that consequential to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Friars had to burn most of their top relief options and their ace, Michael King, to secure the victory, leaving their bullpen in a difficult spot heading into Game 4.

Yes, that victory has given the Padres some life in a series in which they've already suffered multiple heartbreaks, but the real problem is the trend it continued for the Brewers: The franchise has now lost 12 consecutive road playoff games dating back to 2018, tied for the longest streak in MLB history.

The streak they tied? A 52-year stretch from the Twins, dating all the way back to when they were the original Washington Nationals and Senators.

The last time the Brewers won a postseason game away from home? All the way back in the 2018 NLCS, when they beat the Dodgers in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Brewers must shed their road postseason losing streak to better set themselves up for a deep playoff run

Now, technically speaking, the Brewers don't have to win a road game in the playoffs to reach their ultimate goal. By virtue of leading all of baseball with 103 wins in the regular season, they'll have home-field advantage in every series they play for the rest of October. They can go winless on the road indefinitely and still win the World Series if they play perfectly in Milwaukee.

The problems with that plan are as abundant as they are obvious, however. We saw earlier this series just how close the Padres came to stealing both games in American Family Field; were it not for a friendly bounce off the stadium roof or a beyond-his-years at-bat from Jackson Chourio, the Brewers might have already lost the NLDS.

That's not to say the Brewers won't be able to keep racking up wins at home, but rather that the pressure of never being able to lose there will eventually come back to bite the team. With home-field advantage also comes the right to host the first two games of every playoff series, which means that the Crew could find themselves in a painful spot if they do advance and the Dodgers (or Braves) are able to pull off what the Padres couldn't.

That's why Game 4 in San Diego is so crucial, beyond the simple fact that you'd like to have Jacob Misiorowski available for Game 1 of the NLCS (rather than having to burn him in a do-or-die Game 5 of the NLDS). Break the road curse now, and the Brewers will do far more for their championship chances than just clinching a spot in the championship series.

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