Brewers Clinch With 20-0 Rout of Reds

William Contreras homered and drove in six runs as the Milwaukee Brewers clinched their eighth postseason berth in nine seasons with a 20-0 demolition of the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. Garrett Mitchell added his first career grand slam, Dustin May threw six innings of two-hit ball, and Milwaukee finished with a season-high 23 hits at American Family Field.

The Brewers (92-56) kept a 10-game NL Central lead over the Cubs and sit 1 1/2 games ahead of the Dodgers for the majors' best record. They fell short of matching their own modern-era shutout mark, the 22-0 thrashing of Seattle on Aug. 18.

Contreras night, Mitchell slam

Contreras had the sacrifice fly that opened the scoring and later belted a three-run homer in the eighth off catcher Jose Trevino, who pitched the final two innings for Cincinnati. Mitchell's 10th homer capped an eight-run fifth that made it 17-0. Brice Turang went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and a three-run shot in a six-run second. Jake Bauers also went deep.

May (7-9), acquired from St. Louis at the deadline, allowed singles only to Sal Stewart in the first and fourth, struck out six, and walked one on 84 pitches. Rookie Garrett Stallings finished the last three innings for his first save. Fantasy catcher streams that started Contreras got the six-RBI jackpot on a clinch night.

October already booked

Milwaukee is bidding for a fourth straight division title and now owns the ticket. Andrew Abbott (6-11) lasted only into the second after nine hits on 43 pitches. The Reds (69-78) have lost four straight.

Brewers fans wanted a clinch that looked like a statement. They got 20 runs, 23 hits, and Contreras stacking RBIs until the bullpen catcher was on the mound. Cincinnati can reset Saturday. Milwaukee is already in.

American Family Field watched a clinch that never felt tense. Turang and Bauers went deep before the fifth-inning avalanche, and Contreras kept adding. May's two-hit start gave the bullpen a clean runway. Stallings closed a night that was over long before the final out.

Brewers fans have lived October often enough to know a 20-0 clinch is rare even for this club. They took it. Cincinnati has to wash off a historic beating. Milwaukee gets to stack the Central lead and keep staring at the Dodgers for the best record in baseball.

Contreras' six-RBI card is the fantasy headline. The clinch is the real one. Milwaukee does not need to peek at wild-card math anymore. It can chase the Dodgers and the bye with a clean postseason stamp already in the books.