Brewers Reach 100 Wins for First Time With 5-1 Victory Over Phillies

The Milwaukee Brewers reached 100 wins for the first time in franchise history Thursday night, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 5-1 at Citizens Bank Park behind a three-run eighth and Jackson Chourio’s 25th home run, CBS Sports and FOX6 Milwaukee reported.

Milwaukee (100-59) became the first team in baseball to hit the century mark this season and kept pace in the race for the National League’s top overall seed while slowing Philadelphia’s push to clinch a fifth straight playoff berth. The Brewers already own the NL Central title and a first-round bye; Thursday’s milestone topped their previous franchise high of 97 wins from a year ago, according to the Associated Press account carried by CBS Sports.

Jake Bauers broke a 1-1 tie with a single off José Alvarado in the eighth, and Cooper Pratt and Joey Ortiz followed with run-scoring singles for a 4-1 lead. Chourio, who entered midgame as the designated hitter after William Contreras exited, added a solo shot in the ninth for the final margin, FOX6 reported. Sal Frelick’s RBI double in the second had given Milwaukee its first run before Bryce Harper’s RBI single tied the game in the third.

JoJo Romero (3-3) earned the win in relief and Antonio Senzatela notched his fourth save. Starter Shane Drohan lasted only 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run, before Chad Patrick, Aaron Ashby, Romero and Senzatela closed it out. Fans behind the Brewers dugout held “100” signs as the club left the field, CBS Sports noted.

Philadelphia’s night was costly beyond the standings. NL batting leader Luis Arraez left with a sprained left ankle after trying to avoid a tag at first base and is expected to miss time as the Phillies try again to clinch against Tampa Bay. Starter Andrew Painter still delivered a strong outing — six innings, one run, eight strikeouts — in a second-half rebound that has put him in the postseason mix, the AP report said. All-Star lefty Jesús Luzardo also said earlier Thursday that he has recovered enough from left shoulder inflammation to pitch next week in October.

For readers following September baseball on Sports, the Brewers’ 100-win night is both a franchise landmark and a seeding story. Milwaukee is trying to hold off the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers for the No. 1 seed in the NL playoffs while tuning up with a three-game homestand against St. Louis beginning Friday at 7:40 p.m. ET.

The Phillies, meanwhile, failed for a third straight game to lock in their playoff ticket and will send Cristopher Sánchez (18-6, 2.93 ERA) to the mound Friday against the AL East champion Rays. A win Thursday would have at least opened a clinching path; instead, Philadelphia carries an Arraez injury watch into a weekend that still has to finish the regular-season math.

Thursday’s result also fit a wider late-September narrative of clubs stacking milestones while others wait for clinching nights. Milwaukee’s century win arrived with the Central already secured and October baseball assured, turning the final week into a chase for seeding and health rather than survival. Chourio’s 25th homer and the eighth-inning barrage gave the Brewers a statement road win against a division rival still fighting to punch its own ticket.

FOX6 said Milwaukee returns home to close the regular season against the Cardinals, with the first pitch of Friday’s series opener set for 6:40 p.m. CT. CBS Sports framed the 100-win mark as another layer on a season that already delivered a division title and a first-round bye — and as a reminder that the Brewers are the first club this year to reach that historic plateau while October’s bracket is still being filled in around them.

Chourio’s midgame entry as the designated hitter turned into the exclamation point on a franchise night. FOX6 noted he replaced Contreras and immediately factored into the late offense, while Bauers, Pratt and Ortiz supplied the eighth-inning cluster that broke open a one-run game.

Health and roster management now sit beside the celebration. Milwaukee tunes up against St. Louis with a first-round bye already banked; Philadelphia must clinch while monitoring Arraez’s ankle and weighing how Painter and Luzardo fit a postseason staff. CBS Sports’ AP wrap made clear the Phillies’ magic-number chase slipped again even as their pitching depth showed promising signs. For Brewers fans, the “100” signs behind the dugout were the lasting image — a first-time plateau that reframes the franchise’s ceiling heading into October.