The Chicago Cubs aren’t done yet. Facing elimination in front of a tense Wrigley Field crowd, the Cubs held off the Milwaukee Brewers 4–3 on Wednesday night to stay alive in the National League Division Series. Milwaukee still leads the best-of-five matchup 2–1, but Chicago’s gritty win sends the series to a pivotal Game 4 on Thursday night.
The Cubs jumped on Brewers starter Tobias Myers early, erupting for four runs in the first inning — the third straight game in this NL Central clash where both teams scored in the opening frame, a first in postseason history.
Rookie center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong delivered the key swing, lining a two-out single to drive in a pair and cap the Cubs’ early outburst. His clutch hit followed a record-setting moment from Michael Busch, who led off the bottom of the first with a home run — his second of the series. With that blast, Busch became the first player in Major League Baseball history to record multiple leadoff homers in a single postseason series.
The Brewers didn’t go quietly. Jake Bauers, starting at first base in place of Andrew Vaughn — who had hit a three-run homer in Milwaukee’s Game 2 win — fueled the comeback effort. Bauers singled home a run in the fourth and added a solo shot to lead off the seventh, cutting the Cubs’ lead to one.
Milwaukee threatened to complete the rally in the eighth, loading the bases with one out against reliever Brad Keller. But Keller dug in, striking out Bauers on a high fastball to end the inning and preserve the lead. The right-hander then worked a perfect ninth to earn a six-out save and seal Chicago’s first win of the series.
“We’ve been punched a few times in this series,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “But tonight was about responding. The guys came out swinging and stayed composed when it got tight.”
The Brewers, meanwhile, will look to regroup quickly as they aim to clinch their second straight NL Championship Series berth.
Game 4 is set for Thursday night at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs will try to even the series and send it back to Milwaukee for a decisive Game 5.
