Stayin’ alive: Cubs score only in first inning but hang on to win Game 3
Scoring runs only in the first inning is not generally a formula for success.
But with their backs against the wall, the Cubs made it work Wednesday. They crossed the elusive 3-run barrier in their first at-bat, then held on to beat Milwaukee 4-3 at Wrigley Field, trimming their deficit in the best-of-five series to 2-1.
The victory forced Game 4 on Thursday, which is set to begin at 8:08 p.m. but will move up two hours if the Dodgers sweep the Phillies.
Brad Keller recorded a four-out save, retiring the side in order in the ninth inning. It was his first time on the mound since a rocky Game 3 against San Diego in the wild card, when he hit two batters in the ninth.
“I was excited for sure, trying to flush that outing,” Keller said. “And learn from that outing, I felt like I tried to overdo it, especially a lot of the two-strike pitches. So today, I really tried to slow it down, especially when I got to two strikes.”
The real drama happened in the eighth inning, when the Brewers got a leadoff double, then loaded the bases with two outs. Caleb Thielbar got a couple outs, then Keller came in to finish the inning.
“It's a little more tense I think for people watching than it is for the people playing,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “We've done such a good job all year of being able to pass the baton, not only as an offense, but on the pitching side as well.”
It has been a long time since the Cubs scored more than 3 runs in the playoffs. The last time it happened was Game 5 of the NLDS at Washington in 2017. The streak of scoring 3 runs or less was 14 in a row, if you count the division playoff against Milwaukee in '18.
Michael Busch got the Cubs started the same way he did in Game 1, with a leadoff home run to right field. According to the Cubs and Elias, Busch became the first player in MLB history with two first-inning leadoff home runs in a single playoff series.
“From the moment I was placed in that (leadoff) spot, they put me there and I thought, 'Why change what I do?'” Busch said “Just having a good at-bat, staying aggressive, trusting my eyes.”
The home run erased a defensive miscue in the top of the first inning, when Busch lost an infield pop up in the sun, the ball dropped and ended up allowing the Brewers to take a 1-0 lead against starter Jameson Taillon.
“We don't play many 4 o'clock games, the sun coming at a weird angle there,” Taillon said. “Happy to mitigate that, get back in the dugout and regroup.”
After Busch's home run, Nico Hoerner followed with a single, Kyle Tucker walked, then Seiya Suzuki sent a line drive deep into the right-field corner, but Milwaukee's Sal Frelick made a tough, sliding catch to save at least 1 run.
Ian Happ walked to load the bases, Carson Kelly struck out, then Pete Crow-Armstrong delivered what the Cubs have been craving — a clutch, two-out, 2-run single. The fourth run of the inning scored on a wild pitch.
Milwaukee starter Quinn Priester departed after the PCA single, throwing 39 pitches. The Brewers had won 19 of his previous 20 starts, but the Cary-Grove High School grad was in a tough spot with fans at Wrigley Field fired up from the first pitch.
The Cubs never added to the 4-1 lead. They couldn't capitalize on Suzuki's leadoff double in the third, Tucker was picked off after a leadoff single in the fifth, then the Cubs left runners on the corners in the seventh.
The Brewers scored in the fourth on three straight singles against Taillon, but left runners stranded at second and third. In the seventh, Jake Bauers sent the first pitch from Andrew Kittredge into the left-field bleachers to pull Milwaukee within 4-3.
Kittredge gave up the leadoff double to Jackson Chourio in the eighth, a sinking line drive that barely eluded a diving Crow-Armstrong in center. Thielbar and Keller each walked a batter to load the bases, but Keller struck out Bauers to end the inning.
“It's fun and stressful in the same sentence,” Counsell said. “I think you feel both emotions a lot. But you're playing to play tomorrow, and that can't help but give you something (extra). It has to.”