Cary-Grove grad Priester will try to finish off Cubs

The playoff atmosphere at Wrigley Field shouldn't be surprising to Milwaukee pitcher Quinn Priester.

He attended one of the 2016 World Series games — as a Cubs fan.

Obviously, there's a difference between sitting in the stands and taking the mound with a chance to clinch the National League division series for the Brewers, which is what Priester will do Wednesday.

“If I would have told my 10-year-old self this, it would be pretty darned cool,” Priester said Tuesday, when both teams held a workout at Wrigley Field.

The Brewers used the Cary-Grove High School grad as a decoy in Game 2, so the Cubs couldn't be certain if Priester would follow opener Aaron Ashby to the mound or wait for Game 3. The ruse probably made no difference. Milwaukee's assortment of relievers kept the Cubs off the board after a 3-run homer by Seiya Suzuki in the first inning.

Now the Brewers are in a great spot with a chance to sweep the series. Milwaukee finished the season by winning an incredible 19 of 20 games Priester started.

The right-hander was a first-round pick of Pittsburgh in 2019, had some struggles there, was traded to Boston, then Milwaukee in April and found his groove.

“Now I'll pitch here in two jerseys,” he said. “Threw here with the Pirates one year (2023) and now with the Brewers. Definitely an awesome environment to pitch in.”

Priester started against the Cubs three times this season. He got rocked on May 2 in Milwaukee, his worst outing of the year, then gave up a combined 3 earned runs in 10 innings in the other two games, with the Brewers winning both.

On Tuesday, Priester shared his favorite memories of attending Cubs games as a kid.

“My grandma Judy and my grandpa Paul would always take me and my sister Maddie to a game, one a year usually. I remember one year, it was the Phillies. We always tried to go to a Braves game because my grandpa was a big Braves fan.

“My grandfather and I would crack peanuts and try to sneak them on to each other's hats; (see) if I could get it to balance on his head without him noticing and he would do the same to me. It was just a really fun back and forth.

“Yeah, really great memories. Then obviously as I got older, coming to games with my mom and my sister was always fun … definitely created a lot of my love for the sport.”

The Brewers have another player from the suburbs, rookie third baseman Caleb Durbin, who went to Lake Forest High School. Durbin said he remembers playing a game against Cary-Grove, but wasn't sure if he crossed paths with Priester. Durbin contributed a 2-run single in Game 1 of this series.