"If they're every 26 years, I guess that makes them all the more exciting," said coach Robin Yount, who played on the last Brewers team to spray champagne in the clubhouse on the final day of the season.

On a magical day in which the post-season stars finally aligned for the Brewers, the two things that had to happen actually happened. First, the Brewers took care of their business by pulling out a tense yet electrifying 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs before an overflow bipartisan crowd of 45,299 at Miller Park.

Then, in a surreal scene, the final two innings of the game between the New York Mets and Florida Marlins were shown on the giant video screen. As Cubs fans filed out and went home, Brewers fans stayed to see if the Mets would complete their latest collapse and lose.

The Mets complied, bowing 4-2, and the celebration began in the stands and home clubhouse. No tiebreaking game would be necessary Monday at Shea Stadium.

The Brewers were winners of the NL wild card. Next stop Philadelphia, where the best-of-five division series begins Wednesday against the NL East champs.

BREWERS 3, CUBS 1: LHP CC Sabathia and LF Ryan Braun were the stars as the Brewers returned to the postseason for the first time since 1982. Sabathia, pitching on short rest for the third consecutive start, pitched a four-hitter for his seventh complete game in 17 starts since coming from Cleveland. Braun socked a two-run homer off Cubs RHP Bob Howry in the eighth to snap a 1-1 tie. It was a dramatic ending for a team that made things tough on itself by going 10-16 in September. The Brewers won six of their last seven games to pull it off.