NLDS Game 3: Cubs Start Strong, Hold On for Dear Life in 4-3 Win Over Brewers

In front of a crowd that was overwhelmingly made up of Cubs partisans at Wrigley Field Wednesday afternoon, the Cubs gave up one run in the first inning to go down 1-0 early—but followed that with four runs of their own in the bottom of the first. They held off the Brewers, as Milwaukee scored single runs in the fourth and seventh frames but fell to the Cubs, 4-3, in Game 3 of the NLDS.

Busch Strikes Again
Back in the lineup against right-hander Quinn Priester, Michael Busch launched a full-count pitch to the first row of the right-field bleachers (into a 15-mph wind) for a leadoff jack. It was the third homer of the postseason for Busch, all three of them leading off an inning. The two against Milwaukee led off the game for Chicago. Priester was wild all inning, allowing a single to Nico Hoerner before a free pass to Kyle Tucker. Seiya Suzuki flied to right, and Ian Happ walked to load the bases. Beleaguered Pete Crow-Armstrong (we’ll talk more about him later) delivered a clutch two-out single to right, to knock in two runs and give the Cubs a 3-1 lead. Happ later scored on a wild pitch by Nick Mears, to increase the Chicago lead to 4-1.

Brewers Missed Opportunities
Milwaukee missed on scoring chances in three key innings. In the first, Milwaukee had the bases loaded with one out. Sal Frelick flied to left, scoring Christian Yelich, who had led off with a double over the first-base bag. Caleb Durbin flied to center to end the threat, though, leaving two runners on base.

The Brewers had a golden opportunity in the fourth inning, too, but scored only one run. Frelick and Durbin singled, before Jake Bauers singled to center to knock in Frelick. With Durbin on third, Brandon Lockridge laid down a safety squeeze to first. Durbin broke for home, but Busch’s throw to catcher Carson Kelly at home drove Durbin back toward third. Two throws later, Durbin was called out on a 3-2-5-3 putout for the second out. The good news is that Bauers moved to third and Lockridge moved to second on the ‘hotbox’ play. Unfortunately, Joey Ortiz then grounded out to third with two runners in scoring position for the final out.

The eighth inning was perhaps the most frustrating. Jackson Chourio led off with a double to left-center that Crow-Armstong dove for, but saw tick off the end of his blue-and-red glove. Brice Turang struck out, but William Contreras drew a free pass. Frelick grounded to second for a 4-6 force to put runners at first and third. Durbin walked to load the sacks again, but Bauers struck out on a 1-2 pitch from Brad Keller to end the inning.

Those three innings cost Milwaukee the game.

Opie’s Ups and Downs
Pete Crow-Armstrong is ‘a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.’ One minute, he can be a superstar, and the next minute, you would think he should be sent down to Triple-A Iowa. The third-year player was an All-Star this season and should win multiple Gold Glove awards.

But Crow-Armstrong, who has some of the vibes of Opie Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show, is an emotional player who frequently lets those reactions get the best of him. In the first inning, he lined a two-out base hit to right that scored a pair of runs. In the bottom of the third, he was called out on a very bad check-swing strike. Manager Craig Counsell came out of the dugout to rescue him, and Justin Turner had words with him in the dugout to calm him down.   

In the sixth inning, Crow-Armstrong flied out to right and was screaming as he rounded first base.

I understand emotions, but if the youngster wants to become the player that Cubs management thinks he can be, he needs to dial back the highs and the lows.

This and That

• Hall of Fame hurler Fergie Jenkins led the seventh-inning stretch anthem, ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame.’
• What did Isaac Collins do to anger Pat Murphy? Collins, in the running for NL Rookie of the Year, has only three at-bats in the postseason after hitting .263/.368/.411 in the regular season. Admittedly, though, he did bat .187/.318/.297 after returning from paternity leave in mid-August, and he's been worse in the field lately, too.

Top Performers

• Jake Bauers, 2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI
• Sal Frelick, 1-for-3, R, SF, RBI
• Christian Yelich, 1-for-5, R, 2B
• Jackson Chourio, 1-for-4, 2B

Not So Great, Bob
Quinn Priester, 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

What’s on Tap?
The Brewers and the Cubs meet Thursday night at Wrigley Field, with the Brewers trying to close out the NLDS and the Cubs trying to even the series at 2-2. Freddy Peralta is expected to start for Milwaukee, while Chicago will turn back to Matthew Boyd. The game starts at 8:08 PM CT.