MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — Dustin May pitched six scoreless innings and Milwaukee clinched its eighth postseason berth in nine seasons with a 20-0 victory over Cincinnati on Friday night, Sept. 11, 2026, at American Family Field. The Brewers improved to 92-56 and moved a franchise-record 36 games over .500, while the Reds fell to 69-78. A crowd of 41,879 watched a game that took 2 hours, 27 minutes. Milwaukee finished with 23 hits, and Cincinnati had two.

The Brewers wasted little time turning clinch night into a rout. Jackson Chourio opened the bottom of the first with a double, moved to third on Brice Turang’s bunt single and scored on William Contreras’ sacrifice fly. Andrew Vaughn followed with a double that scored Turang, with an error in left field allowing the play to extend. Milwaukee led 2-0 after one. The second inning brought six more runs. Cooper Pratt and Garrett Mitchell singled, Chourio drove in Pratt with a ground-rule double, and Turang crushed a three-run homer to right-center. After Vaughn singled, Jake Bauers hit a two-run homer to center. The Brewers led 8-0 after two innings and had already given May all the support he needed.

May, who improved to 7-9, allowed two hits and no earned runs over six innings. He struck out six and did not issue a walk. Cincinnati’s only hits came on a pair of singles by Sal Stewart, one in the first inning and another in the fourth. Andrew Abbott took the loss for the Reds, falling to 6-11. Garrett Stallings followed May with three hitless innings, striking out two, and was credited with his first save of the season.

Milwaukee added a run in the fourth when Bauers singled to center to score Turang, with an error in center field allowing the run to cross. The Brewers then broke the game open with an eight-run fifth. Mitchell and Joey Ortiz singled, Chourio singled home Mitchell, and Turang doubled home Ortiz. Contreras singled to center to bring home two more, and after two outs and a walk, Mitchell hit a grand slam to center field. It was Milwaukee’s first grand slam of the season and gave the Brewers a 17-0 lead.

The onslaught continued in the eighth. Ortiz singled, Chourio singled, and David Hamilton reached on a force out that put runners on the corners. Contreras then hit a three-run homer to left, capping the scoring at 20-0. Contreras finished 2-for-5 with a home run and six RBIs. Turang was 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs. Mitchell went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. Chourio was 4-for-6 with two RBIs. Bauers went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Every member of Milwaukee’s starting lineup recorded at least one hit.

The 20-run margin was the largest victory by any team on the day it clinched a postseason berth, surpassing 17-run wins by the 2001 Atlanta Braves and the 1996 New York Yankees, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The Brewers also had recent experience with lopsided clinchers, having beaten Miami by 15 runs in 2023 on the day they secured a playoff spot. Milwaukee’s 92nd win of the season kept the Brewers in position for bigger goals, including another NL Central title, postseason positioning and potentially the best record in baseball. The club marked the berth with a toast in the clubhouse and appreciation for the work required, but no champagne-soaked celebration.

Cincinnati’s pitchers combined for 18 strikes, 37 balls and 18 balls in play. Milwaukee’s pitchers combined for 8 strikes, 41 balls and 8 balls in play. Tejay Antone pitched a third of an inning with one strikeout for the Reds. Brock Burke worked a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Julian Garcia allowed one earned run on three hits over 1 2/3 innings with one strikeout. For Milwaukee, May’s six innings and Stallings’ three innings kept Cincinnati off the scoreboard. The Reds had entered the series after losing two of three at Los Angeles, including a 14-1 defeat to the Dodgers on Sept. 9. Milwaukee had won three straight against the Chicago Cubs before facing Cincinnati.

Cincinnati never advanced a runner past second base. Elly De La Cruz walked in the sixth, and Eugenio Suárez walked in the seventh, but the Reds could not sustain any threat. Milwaukee’s defense turned routine plays behind May and Stallings, with Turang and Ortiz active in the middle infield. The Brewers also benefited from Cincinnati miscues, including an error by left fielder JJ Bleday in the first, an error by center fielder Carlos Jorge in the fourth, and an error by shortstop Cooper Pratt in the sixth. Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart accounted for both of the team’s hits, while Matt McLain, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Héctor Rodríguez and Tyler Stephenson were held without a hit. The Reds struck out 10 times as a team. Milwaukee’s lineup, by contrast, produced extra-base hits throughout, with Chourio collecting two doubles and two singles, Turang adding a double and a homer, and Vaughn, Bauers, Contreras and Mitchell all delivering extra-base hits.

The Brewers had also won two of three against the Reds in Cincinnati earlier in September, while Cincinnati had taken a 12-8 victory over Milwaukee on Sept. 6. The teams are scheduled to continue their series Saturday and Sunday at American Family Field. Cincinnati will then return home for a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Milwaukee will head to Pittsburgh for a series against the Pirates. Milwaukee’s victory continued a dominant stretch at home, where the Brewers have leaned on strong starting pitching and a deep lineup. Cincinnati, meanwhile, remained mired in a difficult September that has included a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers and a 1-2 series against Milwaukee earlier in the month.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected Milwaukee 6, Cincinnati 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Milwaukee with a 69 percent probability to win. Milwaukee had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The game’s combined 20 runs surpassed the over/under line of 7.5.