Cubs Make Incredible Playoff History With First Inning Home Run In Game 4 Win

The Chicago Cubs did something no team has ever done before in their Thursday night victory.

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs earned an absolutely massive victory on Thursday night to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers and keep their season alive by forcing of fifth game in the National League Divisional Series.

It's been a hard-fought series that Chicago has had to battle back from a 2-0 deficit in order to send it back to Milwaukee for a winner-take-all fifth game, but the way the Cubs have scored the lion's share of their runs has been fascinating.

Chicago has used huge breakouts in the first inning to power their way to victory, and Thursday night was no different with Ian Happ launching a three-run blast which were the game's only runs until the sixth inning.

IAN HAPP STARTS THE GAME WITH A BANG 💥

CUBS LEAD 3-0! pic.twitter.com/Dj0Fq10ot6

— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2025

Happ's moonshot did more than just give his team a commanding lead, it contributed to some incredible baseball history.

Cubs Break Playoff Record For Consecutive First Inning Home Runs

Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

According to a post on X from Jesse Rogers on ESPN, Happ's home run made Chicago the first team in MLB playoff history to record first inning long balls in four consecutive games. This comes one day after Michael Busch became the first player to record multiple leadoff home runs in the same series.

While relying on the bulk of runs to come in the first frame may not be a sustainable way to win playoff games, it is also a massive advantage to be able to jump out to a quick lead, rattle the starting pitcher, and give themselves a cushion.

From ESPN Stats: The Cubs are the 1st team in MLB history with a HR in the 1st inning in 4 straight playoff games within the same postseason. (Busch, Suzuki, Busch, Happ).

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) October 10, 2025

If this trend can continue in Game 5, this team is going to have an incredible chance to advance to the NLCS against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

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

Cubs Now Have One Game Season in Game 5 vs. Brewers

David Banks-Imagn Images

After the shutout win on Thursday night, Chicago gets the chance now to head back up 90 miles north to Milwaukee in order to try to earn the biggest victory of the season. The way the Cubs have already fought back and demonstrated so much heart to tie the series up has been inspiring, but there's still business left to take care of.

With the city of Chicago behind them and the baseball world watching intently on Saturday night, the Cubs have a chance to fully arrive back on the prominent stage of championship contention. Time will tell if they are able to break through, defeat the Brewers and move on to the next round.

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