Brewers Playoff Scenarios, Wild Card Series Start Times, Where to Watch: Sitting Pretty

Sunday brought clarity for the Brewers about their playoff series this week--but only in terms of at what times and on which channels the games can be found. The question of whom they'll play will have to be settled Monday, far from Milwaukee, by a doubleheader between the Mets and Atlanta.

The league did announce the start times of each Wild Card Series game, even though neither matchup is settled in the NL yet due to the chaos wrought by a hurricane in the Southeast last week. Here are the key details for the Crew's first playoff series:

• Game 1: Starts at 4:32 PM CT, on ESPN
• Game 2: Starts at 6:38 PM CT, on ESPN
• Game 3: Starts at 7:38 PM CT, on ESPN2

The first game will be at an awkward time, but thereafter, the Brewers get primetime treatment. That might have as much to do with logistics and the identity of their potential opponents as with their own national profile, but it's still fun. The sun could pour in rather viciously early in Game 1, making line drives to left field tricky, but otherwise, it will simply be a chance to get Miller Field rocking.

Just as importantly, of course, the Brewers now have good reason to hope that their opponent will be game- and travel-weary, because the Mets and Braves are compelled to play a full doubleheader in order to settle the last two spots in the Wild Card race. Here are the scenarios for that entanglement, from a Brewers perspective:

• Split: All three of the teams involve finish 89-73. Because they each beat the Diamondbacks in their season series, both Atlanta and the Mets are in. Atlanta wins the tiebreaker with New York, so the Mets come back to Milwaukee to play the Brewers in the WCS.
• Mets sweep: Mets are in, and so are the Diamondbacks. Arizona finishes a game back of New York, so they come to Milwaukee.
• Atlanta sweep: The same as a Mets sweep, in effect, except Atlanta would go play the Padres, instead of the Mets doing so. The Diamondbacks still come to Milwaukee.

That sounds like a 50/50 chance of the Snakes returning to the scene of their upset in last year's Wild Card Series, but it's not so. At the end of Game 1 on Monday, the winner of that game clinches a playoff spot. They'll then hold back any and all players without whom they can get through nine innings in Game 2, to minimize those players' tiredness in Tuesday's playoff opener. The loser, on the other hand, will be playing for their lives, and every pitcher they have will be available for the second contest.

It would be a substantial surprise if the two sides don't manage a split. It's in both their best interests, although both sides will have to fight plenty hard enough to gain the edge of winning the first game in the twin bill to ensure that the Mets come to Wisconsin with their legs heavy and their bullpen depleted. The scramble of Game 1 will give way to a very relaxed Game 2, on the winning side, and the other side will face a huge amount of pressure.

In other words, gear up for the Mets. We know for sure that it will be either them or Arizona, but the former is more likely--and, since the Diamondbacks will be able to sit around Monday or travel to Milwaukee on spec while they wait out the games, much more desirable. The Brewers just showed they can beat the Mets handily, and the Mets are probably going to come back even more tired. The Crew just has to be patient, and then take care of business.