MILWAUKEE -- CC Sabathia and Ryan Braun put the Milwaukee Brewers in the playoffs for the first time since 1982 -- with big help from the New York Mets.

Making his third consecutive start on three days' rest, Sabathia pitched a four-hitter and Braun hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to lead the Brewers over the Chicago Cubs 3-1 Sunday.

The Brewers, who fired manager Ned Yost with only two weeks left to go, won the NL wild card less than a half-hour later when the Mets lost to Florida 4-2. Milwaukee (90-72) and New York (89-73) went into the final day of the regular season tied.

Thousands of fans stayed in Miller Park to watch the Mets' game on the giant video board in center field, standing and cheering wildly as the Marlins recorded the final out.

"I tried to visualize what this would be, and nothing could describe it," Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said in a television interview.

The Brewers will face Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs. The NL Central champion Cubs will play the Los Angeles Dodgers,

Sabathia (11-2) pitched his NL-leading seventh complete game -- those came in just 17 starts after the Brewers got the big lefty in July from Cleveland.

The Brewers couldn't get much of anything going offensively until Braun's towering two-run homer off Bob Howry (7-5) broke a 1-all tie.

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