On Sept. 5, the Brewers lost 10-5 to the Cubs in the first game of a four-game series in Milwaukee. They were 7½ games behind the first-place Cardinals in the NL Central with 23 games remaining and five games behind the Cubs for the second wild card -- tied with the Mets, with the Diamondbacks and Phillies ahead of them. Their playoff odds with 23 games remaining, according to Baseball-Reference.com: 3.1%.
Their odds of winning the division? Less than 0.1%. Not less than 1%. Less than one-10th of one percent.
Here we are, 19 games later, and the Brewers not only have clinched a playoff spot -- they did that by beating the Reds 9-2 on Wednesday -- but they are just 1½ games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central.