The Milwaukee Brewers’ Game 163 triumph over the Chicago Cubs to clinch the 2018 National League Central might not have happened had Christian Yelich not produced when his team really needed it two days beforehand.
The Brewers entered Saturday’s game against Detroit one game behind Chicago in the division. Yelich, who would win the 2018 National League MVP Award, had already launched one home run into the stands that evening, but the Tigers tied it at 5-5 on a Nick Castellanos shot in the 6th inning.
Yelich, however, would get the last word, depositing Daniel Stumpf’s second pitch of the seventh inning pitch deep into the right field stands for the the winning margin in the Brewers’ 6-5 victory. The win would allow the Brewers to tie the Cubs in the standings; one day later, Milwaukee and Chicago had identical records after 162 games.
We all know what happened in Game 163.