PITTSBURGH ¨C After spending the past week in a state of in-between -- on the fringes of the race for a first-round bye in the postseason but needing a lot of help -- the Brewers¡¯ path was clear as they took the field for their final road game of the regular season, a 5-2 win over the Pirates on Thursday at PNC Park.

They didn¡¯t yet know who they will play, but they knew they will be the National League¡¯s No. 3 seed, set to host a best-of-three NL Wild Card Series at American Family Field beginning Tuesday. It meant the Brewers could use their final four games to get the pitching staff, including a bullpen with an NL-leading 3.17 ERA, aligned just right.

¡°I think it¡¯s something we earned,¡± pitching coach Chris Hook said. ¡°There¡¯s still the intent to win the baseball game. Rhythm, momentum, all that stuff really plays into it. But it¡¯s an earned thing to be able to put the guys in the best position going into October.¡±

Time will tell where starter Aaron Civale figures into the Brewers¡¯ plans for October, but he capped his regular season by delivering six scoreless innings on three hits Thursday. He was backed by a deluge of doubles -- five in just the first six innings, including a run-scoring double for a 5-0 lead in the sixth from third baseman Joey Ortiz, who also hit a triple and finished a homer shy of the cycle.

¡°I just tried to finish on a strong note,¡± said Civale, who had a 3.53 ERA in 14 starts with the Brewers, compared to a 5.07 ERA in 17 starts with the Rays before a trade to Milwaukee in early July. ¡°Feeding off the energy of the offense, the defense. ¡­ I¡¯m just enjoying each and every day. I¡¯ll do some assessment in the offseason, but right now I¡¯m just enjoying the ride.¡±

Does he know what¡¯s next? The Brewers will surely start Freddy Peralta in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series, but after that there¡¯s a case for any of Frankie Montas, Tobias Myers, Colin Rea and Civale.

¡°I don¡¯t. That¡¯s part of it,¡± Civale said. ¡°The playoffs come around and it¡¯s all hands on deck.¡±

Civale left three innings for the Brewers to assess a pitcher on the postseason roster bubble -- Nick Mears began his return from the injured list with a walk and a two-run homer, the fifth homer he has allowed in 11 1/3 innings since a trade from Colorado -- followed by some tune-ups. Joel Payamps cleaned up for Mears in the seventh inning, Jared Koenig worked a scoreless eighth with help from an Oneil Cruz baserunning blunder, and Devin Williams earned his 14th save in the ninth with his 12th consecutive scoreless appearance.

¡°I think everyone is as fresh as they could be going down the stretch,¡± said Brewers bullpen coach Charlie Greene. ¡°Clinching early helped. We¡¯re still trying to win, for sure, but you can pitch a guy one day and then give him the next day off.

¡°It¡¯s been a good group to work with. I know I¡¯ve answered the phone a lot.¡±

The Brewers went into Thursday ranked fourth in the Majors in relief innings, with only one contender (Detroit) among the three teams ahead of them.

The past week, and the Brewers¡¯ remaining three-game series against the Mets in Milwaukee, has offered a chance to play the remainder of the regular season without emptying the bullpen tank. Managing that way doesn¡¯t come naturally to Pat Murphy, and conceded Thursday that he was open to an argument for approaching the post-clinch period differently should the Brewers find themselves in this spot again.

Pitching decisions in the final regular-season series, he said, will be ¡°calculated." That includes one more outing for Mears before the club decides if he fits the roster for the first round of the postseason.

¡°I want them to feel normal,¡± Hook said. ¡°I don¡¯t want them to feel ¡®too good¡¯ and I don¡¯t want them to feel overworked. There¡¯s a balance there. I think we have a good idea of who needs what, and we¡¯re trying to make sure everything sets up that way.¡±

Said Koenig: ¡°We have to go out there and compete each time like everyone is trying to knock us out. I think that¡¯s important, to go out and keep that mindset. If we stray from that, sometimes it¡¯s hard to get back into that rhythm.¡±