Underrated benefit of Brewers' series win over Dodgers could prove vital down the stretch

Just a few weeks ago, much was made of the Milwaukee Brewers entering the trade deadline with the best record in baseball for the second consecutive season. Last year, Milwaukee ultimately finished one game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies at the end of the regular season, securing the top seed in the playoffs, a bye into the Divisional Series, and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

This year, the race for the top seed could once again be close. Entering play on August 17, the Brewers have the most wins at 77, with the Dodgers and Braves trailing slightly behind at 74. Fortunately for Milwaukee, they just bought themselves some extra cushion against Los Angeles by winning the season series four games to three.

Brewers take season series from Dodgers giving them what could be a key tiebreaker for playoff seeding

In the event that the Brewers and Dodgers finish the regular season with identical records, the tiebreaker would be determined by their head-to-head record. Thankfully, the Brewers now hold that advantage. Los Angeles took two of three earlier in the year, in a Memorial Day Weekend series at American Family Field, before Milwaukee responded by winning three of four at Dodger Stadium.

Thursday night’s ninth-inning comeback proved to be a pivotal moment in the series. The Brew Crew entered their series in Los Angeles having just been swept by the San Diego Padres, but the Brewers responded by finally coming through with runners in scoring position when it mattered most. That late-inning rally not only set the tone for the rest of the series, but also now gives Milwaukee the advantage in the event they finish the season with the same number of wins and losses as the mighty Dodgers.

Outside of Los Angeles, the Brewers still have three games remaining against the Atlanta Braves. That series will take place during the upcoming homestand (August 21-23), and could be just as important as Atlanta currently holds a 2-1 advantage in the season series. While hopefully it never comes down to it, if the Brewers and Braves split their season series 3-3 and finish with identical season records, the tiebreaker would shift to their records in divisional matchups. At the moment, that would put Milwaukee at a disadvantage, as the Brewers have 22 divisional wins compared to 27 for Atlanta.

Ultimately, the Brewers could not have asked for a better outcome against the Dodgers this past weekend. Milwaukee not only took three of four at Dodger Stadium , but they also secured the head-to-head tiebreaker, meaning this weekend's series could prove to be one of the most important of the regular season. That tiebreaker could be the difference between earning a bye in the first round of the postseason and it could result in the Brewers having homefield advantage in a hypothetical October rematch with the Dodgers.

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