Inside The Cubs

Biggest Moments That Led To Cubs 6-0 Win Over Brewers To Force Game 5 Of NLDS

Key plays that swung the game as the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-0 in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Thursday night at Wrigley Field, forcing a decisive Game 5 on Saturday night back in Milwaukee.
Benjamin Rosenberg|
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Ian Happ, to put it mildly, was scuffling heading into Thursday night's Game 4 of the National League Division Series.

The longest-tenured Chicago Cubs player — and the only Cub who had appeared in the postseason with Chicago prior to this year — was 2-for-21 with 11 strikeouts when he came to the plate against Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta with two runners on and two outs in the first inning.

Granted, one of the hits was a home run against Peralta in Game 1 of the series, but that came with the Cubs trailing by eight runs. Peralta started off Happ with a pair of changeups, then left a 1-1 fastball right over the middle of the plate.

Happ was all over it, launching a majestic drive to right field that landed halfway up the right-field bleachers. It was Chicago's second first-inning three-run home run of the series, and this time, the Cubs made it stand up, beating the Brewers 6-0 at Wrigley Field to force a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday in Milwaukee.

"(My teammates) have been carrying me all playoffs, and so to contribute like that early was huge," Happ told Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network on the field postgame. "Some really good swings today. It felt great."

Boyd delivers big shutdown inning

Chicago gave the ball to left-hander Matthew Boyd for his second start of the series, this time on regular rest. Pitching with just three days' rest in Game 1, Boyd failed to survive the first inning, allowing six runs, although just two of them were earned.

But Boyd has performed much better at Wrigley, where the conditions favored pitchers for most of the year. In his first season as a Cub, he was 12-1 with a 2.51 ERA at home, compared to 2-7 with a 3.90 ERA on the road. He pitched around a leadoff walk in the first, then did so again in the second after Happ staked him to a three-run lead.

Matthew Boyd
David Banks-Imagn Images

Boyd gave up just two hits and three walks while striking out six in 4 2/3 innings. He may not have pitched long enough to qualify for the win, but he did allow manager Craig Counsell to avoid using his long relievers and go straight to his high-leverage arms, who kept the shutout intact the rest of the way.

"He was just super effective," Happ said. "He did a good job of controlling himself. When he was out of the zone, he got right back in there. He was really commanding the curveball (tonight) and keeping them off balance.

Cubs play add-on late

The first inning accounted for all of Chicago's scoring in both Game 2 and Game 3, and it looked like that might be the case again Thursday after the Cubs blew a chance with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth.

But after Carson Kelly led off the sixth by reaching on an error and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt, Matt Shaw lined a single into center field to give the hosts an insurance run.

The rookie third baseman was hitless in the postseason entering this game but reached base three times in Game 4 on a walk and two singles.

Chicago kept its foot on the gas, with solo home runs from Kyle Tucker and Michael Busch adding to the lead. Tucker, who will be the top free agent bat available this offseason, hit his first homer of these playoffs, while Busch went deep for the third time in the series.

"Offensively, we did a really nice job of putting pressure on them often," Counsell said. "The crowd picked up on that consistently, and they were awesome with it. We just made them uncomfortable. We just made every pitch uncomfortable, and that's what you're supposed to do."

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Benjamin Rosenberg
BENJAMIN ROSENBERG

Benjamin Rosenberg attended his first game at Wrigley Field before he even knew what a baseball was, and has maintained a strong passion for baseball and the Cubs ever since. He grew up in both suburban Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area, and graduated with both bachelor’s and master's degrees in journalism from Northwestern University in 2021. Benjamin has covered just about every high school and college sport imaginable all over the United States, with a particular focus on softball. He was named the 2022 New Hampshire Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.

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