The Chicago Cubs rode a big first inning to a 4-3 victory in Game 3 of their National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, keeping their season alive in front of the home crowd at Wrigley Field. Chicago’s bats punished Quinn Priester for four earned runs in the first start of his postseason career, chasing him from the game in the first inning and taxing the rest of the Brewers’ pitchers for 7.1 innings of mop up duty.
The Cubs’ bullpen, meanwhile, managed to ward off a Milwaukee comeback bid on the way to a thrilling win.
Here are the winners and losers from Game 3.
Winner: Michael Busch
Cubs first baseman Michael Busch led off the bottom of the first inning with his third home run of the postseason, the second time in three games that he’s begun the game via the long ball. His homer tied the game 1-1 after Milwaukee plated a run in the top of the frame, sparking a four run inning that Chicago rode to victory.
Through six games this postseason, Busch is slashing .300/.364/.750, with half of his hits clearing the fences. He’s also struck out just twice, adding a hit by pitch and a walk to make up for those plays during the first postseason run of his career. Most of the Cubs’ lineup has struggled at one point or another this postseason, but Busch’s steady play has given them a constant.
Winner: Brad Keller
Although he had just three saves in 68 games this season, typically serving as a setup man, reliever Brad Keller answered the call on Wednesday evening, blanking the Brewers across 1.1 innings to maintain a 4-3 lead and get the save. The 30-year-old right-hander didn’t even pitch his best game, throwing just ten of 19 pitches for strikes… but it didn’t matter, as the Brewers couldn’t barrel up against him.
Keller entered with two on and two out in the eighth and promptly issued a four pitch walk. He then recovered from those early nerves, striking out Jake Bauers (who knocked in two runs, including a homer) to end the frame. Keller pitched a clean ninth, battling with Blake Perkins for eight pitches before striking him out with a fastball, then got Christian Yelich to ground out on the following pitch to secure the win.
Loser: Quinn Priester
2019 first round pick Quinn Preister put up a dud in his postseason debut, allowing a home run on the sixth pitch he threw before loading the bases with a single and two walks. Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy gave the young right-hander a chance to wriggle out of the jam, but after striking out Carson Kelly, Priester allowed a two-run single to Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Murphy had seen enough, and pulled Priester from the game after 39 pitches, seven batters faced and four earned runs, putting the onus on Milwaukee’s bullpen for the rest of the game.
Loser: Brewers’ Bullpen
Milwaukee’s bullpen is a victim of circumstance. They kept the Brew Crew in the game in admirable fashion, rebounding to blank Chicago over 7.1 innings and giving Milwaukee’s bats ample opportunities to stage a comeback. However, with Game 4 set to begin barely 25 hours after Game 3 ended, the Brewers’ bullpen will be shorthanded as they look to put the Cubs away, which could give Chicago a prime opportunity to tie the series.
Jose Quintana, typically a starter, filled in for three scoreless innings but potentially wrote himself out of the equation for the rest of the series in doing so. Traditional relievers Nick Mears (0.1 innings, 14 pitches), Grant Anderson (2.0 innings, 30 pitches) and Chad Patrick (1.2 innings, 22 pitches) combined to allow just one hit; Patrick wriggled out of a jam with two on and one out in the seventh, preventing the Cubs from adding insurance.
