Tiebreaker Monday featured two different approaches to win a playoff game. Milwaukee used Jhoulys Chacin for an effective 5.2 inning outing before turning the game over to its deep bullpen. Comparatively, the Dodgers benefited from some shaky defense by the Rockies and 6.2 shutout innings by Walker Buehler to win its sixth straight National League West. As a result, the Braves will head to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers in a five game series, Colorado meets the Cubs this evening in the Wild Card play-in game for the right to oppose Milwaukee on the other side of the bracket.

That Just Happened

Cementing his MVP status, Christian Yelich went 3-for-4 with an RBI and stole his 22nd base of the season. He’s the first Brewer to win a league batting championship in franchise history and finished with an even 1.000 on-base plus slugging percentage. In 147 games, Yelich accrued 118 runs, 36 home runs and 110 RBI to accompany his .326/.402/.598 slash line.

Beneath the scenes, Orlando Arcia ended the year on a seven game hit streak and racked up four hits in as many at-bats on Monday. Over his last 44 games, Arcia went 37-for-119 (.310) and could be a nice late round middle infield flier for 2019. Domingo Santana continues to produce as a pinch hitter. He doubled and scored a run and since his recall from Triple-A, hitting .444 in 18 at-bats as a pinch hitter with two home runs and three RBI.

If the Brewers make a run in the postseason, it will be attributed to its bullpen. Corey Knebel garnered the win on Monday firing his 16th straight scoreless outing since his return from the minors in early September. His last 16.1 innings yield a 33:3 K:BB, no runs and a 0.49 WHIP. With Jeremy Jeffress unavailable, Josh Hader stepped up with two scoreless innings giving up a hit and striking out three for his 12th save. Hader wraps up his season with 143 strikeouts in 81.1 innings with a 2.43 ERA and 0.81 WHIP.

Chicago will hope Anthony Rizzo will stay hot in their elimination game on Tuesday against the Rockies. Rizzo accounted for their only run on his 25th home run. He’s reached 100 RBI in each of the last four years and hitting .333 over his last 33 games with 10 doubles and four home runs in them.

Jesse Chávez threw two scoreless innings with a strikeout. He’s been scoreless his last 11 appearances spanning 13 innings. Since joining the Cubs, Chavez has won two games, saved four, owns a 1.15 ERA and 0.79 WHIP in 32 games.

It’s going to be tough to roster Walker Buehler in drafts next year due to his rising stock. Buehler generated swinging strikes with five different pitches on Monday en route to limiting the Rockies to one hit in 6.2 innings walking three and striking out three. Over his last 12 starts, Buehler struck out 87 against 23 walks with a minuscule 1.55 ERA and 0.85 WHIP.

Raise your hand if you anticipated Max Muncy would lead the Dodgers in home runs. Put them down liars. Muncy did launch his 35th home run and rebounded nicely from a late season slump. He’s batting .333 over his last 19 games with 14 runs, three home runs and 16 RBI. Cody Bellinger added his 25th home run with two RBI.

Fantasy owners know who Kiké Hernández is due to his DFS upside and versatility when navigating through injuries. However, the rest of the baseball world will get to see him during the playoffs. Hernandez enters the postseason hitting .367 his last 35 games and slashed a robust .348/.438/.522 in September with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, 11 walks and 10 strikeouts. He shifted to a heavier bat to slow down his swing and could be a pivotal part of the Dodgers success.

Fantasy owners will be tracking the performance of Kenley Jansen in the playoffs as a way to evaluate his draft status for next year. Jansen’s overcome some struggles in performance and health this year to finish second in the National League in saves, but yielding two home runs in the ninth does not ease any concerns. Like Boston, the soft underbelly of the Dodgers will be its bullpen. Stay tuned.

Just when it seemed safe to trust German Marquez , he absorbs the loss as the Rockies tried to win its first National League West title. Marquez lost his 12 game quality start streak in the process, but a passed ball led to the first runs of the game. He only lasted 4.2 innings giving up five hits, four runs (two earned) and two walks with nine strikeouts. Marquez also induced 19 swinging strikes of his 84 pitches and deserved a better outcome. Still, he finishes the year with 230 strikeouts in 196 innings and 14 wins. He will only turn 24 in February.

Charlie Blackmon went 2-for-3 with a walk and ends the year as only the third National League center fielder to record three straight seasons with at least 100 runs along with at least 25 home runs. The other two? Duke Snider and Willie Mays, pretty strong company. Nolan Arenado launched his 38th home run. This marks the third time he’s led the league or tied for the lead in home runs. Arenado’s the first player to do this in the senior circuit since Mike Schmidt. As the team arrives in Chicago, Arenado’s in the midst of a nine-game hit streak and will try to get to Jon Lester early. Trevor Story hit his 37th home run and accumulated 85 extra-base hits. Story’s terrific bounce back ends with him hitting .291/.348/.567 with 88 runs, 108 RBI and 27 stolen bases.

What To Watch For

A battle of southpaws in Wrigley with Kyle Freeland facing Jon Lester . Which team will apply pressure via the long ball? Once again, if it comes down to a battle of the bullpens, the Rockies own the advantage. Will it be deja vu all over again for the Cubs?

Oakland will face the Yankees on Wednesday night in what could be a carbon copy of Monday’s Brewers versus Cubs game. Whichever team scores early will try to get their bullpen involved when necessary to clinch the win. Both teams own the advantage over the Red Sox in high leverage innings, but will it be enough to overcome baseball’s best record?

Cleveland and Houston will put forth a great battle with deep rotations, solid bullpens and it remains to be seen which offense will be able to overcome the other’s starting pitchers.

Milwaukee will try to advance with its smoke and mirrors approach with the hot bat of Yelich.

Atlanta will meet up with the Dodgers with teams on opposing ends of the spectrum in recent play. However, in October, anything can happen.

This will be the last Round Up of the season, so thanks for all the support and for reading. Hopefully the Fantasy Alarm family did as well as its founders:

Kudos to Howard Bender for winning the LABR National League only title.

Rick Wolf and Glenn Colton taking home the American League only championship in LABR.

Statistical Credits:

MLB.com

Fangraphs.com