Brewers-Cubs NLDS Game Four Thread - 10/9/2025 @ 8:08PM

[wildcat83]

I firmly believe we should have saved Freddy for game 5 at home if needed, but now let’s go finish it tonight!  This makes tonight’s game all that more nerve wracking.  It feels like a must win now, which puts the pressure on us.  If we go back home for a bullpen game in game 5 I think we’re toast.  We need Freddy to be an ace tonight in a hostile environment!

[Daubs]

23 minutes ago, pitchleague said:

Well. . . . I'll go on record that I'm not a fan of Freddy pitching in tonight's game.  On the road with the wind blowing "out", 

 

Looking at the weather, the wind is slated to be coming from the E to SE tonight (9 MPH).  I think that means it will be blowing in from RF?

[Underachiever]

Home plate lower left part of field. Wind coming from the East to Southeast would be blowing from right field toward left. Last night, as I understand it, was a northeast wind, which would have coming in from center field toward home plate.

[liveforoctober]

1 hour ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I agree Peralta should start, but I don't know where you're going with the second sentence. People who have followed the starting pitcher in this series have given up one run in three games & allowed one inherited runner to score.

I was just saying we won't have Quinn, Quintana, or Patrick. So unless you want the 3 guys at the end of the pen (K, M, U) to throw multiple things... The only options for any length beyond Ashby would be the rooks and throwing Gasser or Miz into this Wrigley environment is a white flag move.

[owbc]

I trust that our ace will deliver. Win today, don't let it come down to one game if we can avoid it. 

The Cubs also have to cover 9 innings today and 9 in a potential game 5. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

I was just saying we won't have Quinn, Quintana, or Patrick. So unless you want the 3 guys at the end of the pen (K, M, U) to throw multiple things... The only options for any length beyond Ashby would be the rooks and throwing Gasser or Miz into this Wrigley environment is a white flag move.

Got it.

I will say that I wouldn't be surprised if Uribe has an outing of more than one inning this series. But the others, you're right.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Turang needs to get his ass in gear. Matters more than whatever P starts the game.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

1 hour ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Good stuff. But as for Miz, game five or not I feel much better about him pitching at home, especially after his game two performance.

You aren't going to second-guess either way? I'm sorry, I'm afraid we're going to have to revoke your message board license.

Fair enough re: Miz. I thought he was great in Game 2, but also a couple pitches away from things getting dicey (the Happ K on ball 4 was huge for him). I'll be all nerves in a Game 5 either way, so I guess Miz won't add too much if he's in that spot. We could throw 2014 Bumgarner out there, and I'd be a wreck. 

Peralta vs. Boyd it is, both managers going with the easiest choice to defend to the media and the public. In this case, Peralta is also probably the right call. If I'm CC, I'd have thrown a righty opener. Rolling with our best! Let's give Freddy a real, serious playoff moment tonight. Lots of run support, and let him unleash his best self.

 

 

[burnzy24]

Can someone explain the logic MLB used to have the westcoast game start at 3:00 pm locally while the teams playing in the central time zone don't start until 8:00 at night? It's like they are trying to get less people to watch the games.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

1 minute ago, burnzy24 said:

Can someone explain the logic MLB used to have the westcoast game start at 3:00 pm locally while the teams playing in the central time zone don't start until 8:00 at night? It's like they are trying to get less people to watch the games.

You get three of the four markets in primetime for the whole night, including the Cubs, who are probably the best national draw. 

Makes sense to me from a TV perspective, even if I'd prefer it the other way around. 

[CheezWizHed]

2 hours ago, torts said:

It's fine guys, everythings fine

As our resident optimist... I am so disappointed. 😂

[liveforoctober]

Hindsight is 20/20 and as much as I love having an opinion about things, the Brewers have a multi-year window where I will not challenge their decisions because they've been so good.. 

But how different would our bullpen look right now with Myers instead of Gasser? I need to have more faith but I'm terrified to throw Gasser in multiple situations right now and Myers I would have no issue pitching just about anywhere.

When we advance, thinking about who would be able to handle the road crowd in Philly or Los Angeles might need to be considered.

 

[Team Canada]

8 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

But how different would our bullpen look right now with Myers instead of Gasser? I need to have more faith but I'm terrified to throw Gasser in multiple situations right now and Myers I would have no issue pitching just about anywhere.

I mean, the bullpen hasn't allowed a run, so it would be hard for it to look better. And they can make a different decision for the NLCS, if/when we get there.

[Team Canada]

Just now, Team Canada said:

I mean, the bullpen has been dominant, so it would be hard for it to look better. And they can make a different decision for the NLCS, if/when we get there.

 

[Roderick]

46 minutes ago, burnzy24 said:

Can someone explain the logic MLB used to have the westcoast game start at 3:00 pm locally while the teams playing in the central time zone don't start until 8:00 at night? It's like they are trying to get less people to watch the games.

I assume since the Eagles are playing that MLB doesn't want their Philly viewership cut by the NFL game hence the early start for them.   No idea if that is right or not.

[AKCheesehead]

I feel for folks in Central/Eastern.  But selfishly, being in AK time zone I love the late start.  Unlike yesterday, I'll get to watch the Brewers shut down the cubs season today.  I can't wait!

[DonBarclay]

I would have gone bullpen game, but it’s a toss up. I’d still be at least tempted to start an opener to negate 1 Busch AB. Too bad there’s the 3 batter minimum, perfect game for Gasser to go 1 batter and turn it over to Freddy. 

[adambr2]

10 minutes ago, DonBarclay said:

I would have gone bullpen game, but it’s a toss up. I’d still be at least tempted to start an opener to negate 1 Busch AB. Too bad there’s the 3 batter minimum, perfect game for Gasser to go 1 batter and turn it over to Freddy. 

Not if you start wildly thrashing on the ground after one hitter, screaming and clutching your arm. 

[Team Canada]

15 minutes ago, Roderick said:

I assume since the Eagles are playing that MLB doesn't want their Philly viewership cut by the NFL game hence the early start for them.   No idea if that is right or not.

That's a great call, I hadn't thought to look if Philly was playing the Thurs night game, but I'm sure you're right.

[long ball]

I’m all in with Peralta pitching tonight. I think it’s the correct call both for this series and if we advance to the NLCS. 
 

we can always bullpen game 5 if needed (which id guess they’ll do). Pushing it off to game 5 allows additional rest days for guys like Misiorowski, Quintana, and Priester who may all figure into that bullpen game if needed. 
 

i was confident going into this series. I actually thought the brewers would sweep them. We had a chance, but I think the brewers will finish it off tonight. 

[MrTPlush]

I think y'all are really overthinking the whole pitching situation. Why on earth would you not go with your starting pitching ace on normal rest? Literally the only starter we have even worth a darn. He should be starting as much as possible and as soon as possible, period.

We have the perfect situation today. Our Ace and a rested back of the pen. Even better with an off day tomorrow so they can all be emptied out today carelessly. Actually, if Peralta implodes fast enough you could probably pull him today and have some emergency ability Saturday to use him. 

Bullpen game makes it seem like you are trying way too hard to plan for your Game 5 without any obvious gain.

[Strike4]

6 minutes ago, long ball said:

I’m all in with Peralta pitching tonight. I think it’s the correct call both for this series and if we advance to the NLCS. 
 

we can always bullpen game 5 if needed (which id guess they’ll do). Pushing it off to game 5 allows additional rest days for guys like Misiorowski, Quintana, and Priester who may all figure into that bullpen game if needed. 
 

i was confident going into this series. I actually thought the brewers would sweep them. We had a chance, but I think the brewers will finish it off tonight. 

This is where I am at - we are currently running with one true "Ace" on the pitching staff - I want to maximize his rest and opportunities in the NLCS.  I also think it sends a message to the team that we are confident enough to look at next step.  Between that and maximizing your bullpen if there is a game 5 I thinks it's the right call.  Doesn't mean it will work out perfectly but I like the odds better overall. 

[kestrel79]

Yep easy call, go with your Ace. Ride or die with him, go for the kill and avoid game 5 best you can.

Sure he's a flyball pitcher and the wind is blowing out a bit, who else do we have available that isn't a flyball pitcher that can go 5-6 innings and is fresh? Most of our guys available tonight can give up the long ball...and the wind is blowing out for our offense too. 

How about we just score a ton of runs and win it that way. My anxiety would appreciate that.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Alright, final thoughts before I log off and just enjoy the crap out of this electric, pre-game, playoff baseball, fall-in-the-air nervous excitement. Hopefully, I'll be exhausted and happily delirious come tomorrow and able to slowly savor every post from this game thread.

I have no idea what is going to happen tonight. I'm neither confident nor terrified. What I know is I thought a sweep would be the most unlikely outcome. In that sense, it feels like this is where the series really begins, despite being 60-75 percent done.

We have a starting pitching advantage tonight. Is it a huge one? Probably not, Game 1 results aside. But I think it's there, and I think it's real.

We'll have the more rested bullpen. And our bullpen is better than the Cubs in general, I think. Both of those things are good.

My favorite Brewers advantage tonight is that Murph's lineup decisions are easy. Vaughn hits. You feel good about Perkins from the right side. Ortiz and Durbin get platoon advantages.

My two biggest worries:

1) Yelich, Turang, and Frelick need hits, and will have to collect them against lefties. If they don't, I have a hard time seeing how we score enough.

2) The Cubs can really hit when they want to. I have a feeling they're going to score either 0-2 or 6+ tonight. we can win either kind of game, but I think our most likely outcome is 3-5 runs. I fear the game may turn on late runs, and the Cubs will be the team to get them.

How all of that shakes out is, like I said, anyone's guess. Here's what I know. Barring injury or pitcher overuse, what happens tonight will not matter for any potential Game 5. Let's scratch a couple times in the first third and make them play with the pressure on them. 

Go Brewers, and may we all be celebrating well into tomorrow.

 

[kestrel79]

14 minutes ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

Alright, final thoughts before I log off and just enjoy the crap out of this electric, pre-game, playoff baseball, fall-in-the-air nervous excitement. Hopefully, I'll be exhausted and happily delirious come tomorrow and able to slowly savor every post from this game thread.

I have no idea what is going to happen tonight. I'm neither confident nor terrified. What I know is I thought a sweep would be the most unlikely outcome. In that sense, it feels like this is where the series really begins, despite being 60-75 percent done.

We have a starting pitching advantage tonight. Is it a huge one? Probably not, Game 1 results aside. But I think it's there, and I think it's real.

We'll have the more rested bullpen. And our bullpen is better than the Cubs in general, I think. Both of those things are good.

My favorite Brewers advantage tonight is that Murph's lineup decisions are easy. Vaughn hits. You feel good about Perkins from the right side. Ortiz and Durbin get platoon advantages.

My two biggest worries:

1) Yelich, Turang, and Frelick need hits, and will have to collect them against lefties. If they don't, I have a hard time seeing how we score enough.

2) The Cubs can really hit when they want to. I have a feeling they're going to score either 0-2 or 6+ tonight. we can win either kind of game, but I think our most likely outcome is 3-5 runs. I fear the game may turn on late runs, and the Cubs will be the team to get them.

How all of that shakes out is, like I said, anyone's guess. Here's what I know. Barring injury or pitcher overuse, what happens tonight will not matter for any potential Game 5. Let's scratch a couple times in the first third and make them play with the pressure on them. 

Go Brewers, and may we all be celebrating well into tomorrow.

 

Good takes, and I like how you don't go on this site for the games. I think that's a great idea.