The location changed for Game 3 of the NLDS between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs, but the scoring cadence didn’t. There were first-inning fireworks in the Friendly Confines, too.
In an NL Central division showdown that produced 13 first-inning runs in the first two games, the Cubs put up a four-spot in the opening frame Wednesday, igniting the Wrigley Field fans desperate for more playoff baseball.
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The Cubs maintained their lead the rest of the way, even as the Brewers chipped away, and staved off elimination with a 4-3 victory. Milwaukee’s series lead is down to 2-1, and Game 4 is Thursday at Wrigley.
In the top of the first inning, the Brewers staked themselves to a 1-0 advantage, in large part thanks to Christian Yelich, who ripped a leadoff double off Cubs starter Jameson Taillon and then scored on a sac fly from Sal Frelick.
While the veteran Taillon ultimately recovered and turned in four innings of work, the same couldn’t be said for 25-year-old Brewers righty Quinn Priester. Pitching against the team he grew up rooting for, Priester battled command issues and gave up four runs and two walks in two-thirds of an inning before he was yanked.
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Redeeming himself after losing an infield popup in the sun that advanced Yelich to third in the first frame, Michael Busch blasted a leadoff homer for the second time in the series. Not even swirling Wrigley Field winds could keep it out of the right-field bleachers.
The Cubs then loaded the bases, and Pete Crow-Armstrong smacked a two-out, two-RBI single to right, chasing Priester and forcing Brewers manager Pat Murphy into a bullpen game early.
In came Nick Mears, the first of five additional Milwaukee arms deployed Wednesday. Almost instantly, Mears fired a wild pitch that catcher William Contreras couldn’t corral while Crow-Armstrong swiped second. Ian Happ scored as a result, making it a 4-1 game.
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From there, the Cubs didn’t score again, and the Brewers chipped away at their deficit throughout the night.
Jake Bauers delivered an RBI single in the top of the fourth, and in the seventh, he teed off on reliever Andrew Kittredge’s first pitch, sending a solo shot over the left-center wall and cutting the Cubs’ lead to 4-3.
Milwaukee threatened to break hearts in the eighth, loading the bases with two outs, and Bauers came up again with the tying run 90 feet away. Fortunately for Chicago, Brad Keller blew by Bauers with a 97-mph, four-seam fastball up in the zone for a clutch strikeout.
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With that, Keller secured the four-out save in the ninth and extended the Cubs’ playoff run at least one more day. Game 4 is scheduled for 9:08 p.m. ET Thursday in Chicago.
