Why the Diamondbacks were locks for the World Series as soon as they beat the Brewers

The Arizona Diamondbacks are headed to the World Series for just the second time in franchise history. With a Game 7 win over the reigning NL Champions, the Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona has secured themselves a date with the Texas Rangers. Arizona's 84 wins are the fewest for a World Series team since the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals. Nobody expected them to make it this far, but eagle-eyed baseball fans could have told you, the moment they beat the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card Round, it was over for the rest of the National League.

The Milwaukee Brewers came into MLB in 1970 (1969 if you count the lone Seattle Pilots season). Since then, they have reached the postseason just nine times. That's not a great track record, but they have reached the playoffs in five of the last six seasons.

That said, every team to eliminate the Brewers has gone to the World Series, including the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks. Six of the eight previous teams went on to win the World Series altogether. Only the 2018 Dodgers and 1981 Yankees failed to win it all.

Which of these teams felt strangest to see in the World Series?

An 84-win Diamondbacks team is certainly one of the odder teams to reach the World Series after beating Milwaukee, but the 2019 Nationals might be even stranger. They beat Milwaukee in a one-game playoff, back when that was a thing, and barely snuck by the Brewers. The Nationals had to rely on Brewers' outfielder Trent Grisham making a crucial error that allowed the Nationals to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Why was Grisham in the game? Because star right fielder Christian Yelich, who was the reigning NL MVP at the time, was injured.

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To recap: the Nationals needed the Brewers' best player to be hurt, needed his replacement to make a key error, and needed one of their starters, Stephen Strasburg, to make a relief appearance and shut the door after their Cy Young-winning starter, Max Scherzer, gave up three runs in five innings.

That team didn't win it all, right? Wrong. In fact, they reached the World Series with relative ease following their victory over the Brewers. Yes, the Dodgers gave them a scare, pushing the NLDS to five games, but the Nationals swept the NLCS over the St. Louis Cardinals. They then won the World Series in seven games over Houston. That World Series was the first time a best-of-seven series ever saw the visiting team win every game. The only other time was ironically, the 2023 ALCS.

Did the Brewers ever reach the World Series?

Yes, in 1982. The Brewers, still a member of the American League, represented the AL, but ultimately lost to the Cardinals in seven games. The Brewers actually had a 3-2 series lead over the Cardinals heading into the final two games at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Milwaukee lost the last two games by a combined score of 19-4.

How to watch the World Series:

Game 1 of the 2023 World Series is scheduled for Friday, October 27, at 8:03 p.m. ET/5:03 p.m. PT. Globe Life Field in Arlington will be the venue.

The game will air on FOX Sports and can be streamed on Fox Sports Go, MLB.tv, and Fubo TV.

World Series:Odds, picks, and predictions

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