PITTSBURGH ¨C Here¡¯s what we do know: Freddy Peralta made his final regular-season start in the Brewers¡¯ 2-1 loss at PNC Park, capping a seven-strikeout night by spinning a slider below Bryan Reynolds¡¯ swing in the sixth inning to become the fourth pitcher in Milwaukee¡¯s franchise history with multiple 200-strikeout seasons.

We know that Peralta finished his seventh regular season with a 3.68 ERA while setting career highs for starts (32) and innings (173 2/3). We know that his next start will be at American Family Field in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series, since Wednesday¡¯s combination of Phillies and Dodgers victories and a Brewers loss meant Milwaukee is locked into the NL¡¯s No. 3 seed.

We also know that Peralta, one of the three players who has been with the Brewers for all six of their postseason qualifiers in the past seven years, is excited to be the one leading them into October this time.

¡°I¡¯ve been learning to control myself,¡± he said. ¡°I live this game, I love the game. And I know it¡¯s going to be exciting.¡±

But if you¡¯re wondering against whom Peralta will pitch, we¡¯ll have to get back to you. The Brewers are going on a week since they clinched the NL Central, and yet they find themselves right in the thick of the wildness awaiting Major League Baseball in the coming days.

¡°I guess this is what¡¯s fun about it, you know?¡± Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. ¡°This is what MLB wants, they want it to come down to the wire and be hairy.¡±

• Postseason FAQ: What's next for Brewers?

Maybe not this hairy. The NL Wild Card race was thrown a curveball on Wednesday when the final two games of the Mets-Braves series were postponed as Hurricane Helene bore down on Atlanta. Those games were rescheduled as a straight doubleheader on Monday, and figure to be critical not only to both teams as they vie for a postseason berth, but also to clubs like the Brewers doing what they can to plan ahead for October.

Good luck with that. With the Padres and D-backs finishing their regular seasons this weekend in Phoenix, and the Mets and Braves taking their seasons all the way to Monday, the NL playoff field might not be clear until Monday night ¨C with a pair of NL Wild Card Series scheduled to begin the very next day.

¡°It doesn¡¯t matter for me,¡± Peralta said. ¡°I know for sure it is going to be a good team. I¡¯m prepared for all that.¡±

The right-hander is coming off a regular season that wasn¡¯t particularly efficient ¨C he pitched past the sixth inning twice in 32 starts ¨C but was consistent, and that mattered for a staff that matched a franchise record by employing 17 different starting pitchers. Peralta cleared at least five innings 28 times and took the ball every time he was asked.

"I am in a great position right now,¡± Peralta said. ¡°I feel very awesome. My arm, my legs. What is most important for me is very good. ¡­ I said it in Spring Training: What¡¯s most important for me as a starting pitcher is being healthy for the full season.¡±

The Brewers will be in good shape in the postseason if they get the version of Peralta who carved through the first four innings Wednesday on 57 pitches, with six strikeouts for 199 on the season, and pitching with a lead thanks to Jake Bauers¡¯ first home run in more than a month.

In the fifth, Peralta retired the first two batters on five pitches before he began to labor. He got to full counts against the Pirates¡¯ Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters and couldn¡¯t put any of them away, walking Yasmani Grandal and Nick Yorke before Liover Peguero lined a go-ahead two-run double.

¡°I thought he let the inning get away from him, focusing, maybe, too much on the result and not enough on the process of just getting them out,¡± Murphy said. ¡°I think that led to the two runs, to be quite honest with you.

¡°But you don¡¯t know for sure. It sure seemed like he was trying to get that last punchout to get 200. It¡¯s a great honor ¨C a great milestone for any starting pitcher.¡±

Is that true? Was Peralta aware he was one strikeout shy of a round number?

¡°Yes, I was,¡± Peralta said.

Fellow starter Frankie Montas chimed in from a neighboring locker, ¡°Of course he was!¡±

Peralta said he was most irritated about the walk to Grandal, and that he was pleased to limit the damage to two runs. It earned him a shot to face Reynolds leading off the sixth for one more chance at strikeout No. 200.

¡°I knew, and I was battling with him,¡± Peralta said.

When Reynolds struck out, Peralta pumped his fist.

His regular season was complete. Bring on the postseason.