MILWAUKEE — The I-94 Rivalry heads south to the Friendly Confines for arguably the biggest meeting in its history.
After taking care of business at home, the Brewers have a chance to sweep the Cubs on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
“People are wondering, ‘How does this team have the best record in baseball?’ Nobody predicted they’d be over .500, and then we have all the injuries; certainly nobody was banking on us,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “But how did that happen? It’s the group of the people in the room. It’s the group of people in the room that know how to wash it off. They know how to bounce back. They know how to have a bad series and understand the importance of the next pitch. That relentless kind of behavior is a separator.”
In postseason history, teams taking a 2-0 lead in any best-of-five series have gone on to win that series 80 of 90 times (88.9%). In Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams to win both Games 1 and 2 at home have advanced 31 of 34 times (91.2%), including 20 sweeps. The most recent comeback in both situations came in the 2017 American League Division Series, when the Yankees rallied past Cleveland.
Milwaukee hasn’t missed a beat behind strong pitching and clutch hitting, putting the club on the cusp of its first postseason series victory since 2018. Chicago, on the other hand, is searching for answers to its scuffling lineup and shaky starting pitching to stave off elimination in the first postseason series between the NL Central rivals.
“It’s simple: We’ve got to just win pitches,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We’ve got to win moments. You’ve got to stay with your process and your routines. It’s as simple as that. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but it’s done by winning one pitch at a time and succeeding one pitch at a time. It’s going to be a fun environment, and we’re looking forward to Wednesday. Our road back to Milwaukee starts on Wednesday afternoon.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Game 3:
When is the game and how can I watch it?
Game 3 between the Brewers and Cubs will be at 4:08 p.m. CT on TBS, truTV and HBO Max.
All series are available in the US on MLB.TV with authentication to a participating Pay TV provider. Games also are available live internationally, although not in Canada. Sportsnet is MLB’s exclusive English language broadcaster in Canada for every Postseason game, while TVA Sports will be covering the entire AL Postseason and the World Series in French and Broadcaster RDS will cover the entire NL Postseason in French.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Brewers: There was the Wade Miley Gambit in the 2018 NLCS, when the Brewers sent the veteran lefty to the mound to start against the Dodgers, then made a surprise pitching change after one batter. Now there’s the Quinn Priester Ploy, after Priester (13-3, 3.32 ERA) warmed up alongside Game 2 “opener” Aaron Ashby to make it appear he would provide the bulk of innings in what became a 7-3 Brewers win. But that was a decoy, and after spending the entire game in the bullpen Priester threw a late-night mound session to prep for his scheduled start in Game 3. He cemented his place as a valuable piece for the Brewers before agreeing to take part in Monday’s subterfuge; the team won 19 consecutive games in which Priester pitched from May 30 in Philadelphia through Sept. 18 at home before finally taking a loss in his final regular-season start on Sept. 26. Since then, he’s been staying in shape with side sessions.
Cubs: The North Siders are handing the ball to veteran Jameson Taillon (11-7, 3.68 ERA), who already started a winner-take-all Game 3 against the Padres in the Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field. In that outing, the big righty spun four scoreless innings to help Chicago pull off the win. Including that start, the 33-year-old Taillon has logged a 1.67 ERA in his last eight outings, dating back to June 29. That included a 1.54 ERA in four September games after returning from a minor groin strain. He faced Milwaukee three times in ‘25, notching a pair of quality starts (three runs allowed combined over 12 innings on May 3 and Aug. 19) and one rough start (five runs in four innings on June 19). Taillon is 5-2 with a 3.05 ERA in 10 starts at home this year.
What might the starting lineups look like?
Brewers: The Brewers get their first look at a right-handed Cubs starter, which could mean Christian Yelich bumping to the leadoff spot. Milwaukee deployed him that way over the final week or so of the regular season, and Murphy suggested he was seriously considering it for the postseason, partly for the way it provides some protection for Joey Ortiz at the bottom of the order. This could also mean a start for lefty-hitting first baseman Jake Bauers, even though Andrew Vaughn delivered a huge homer (albeit off a lefty) in the first inning of Game 2. And once again, the biggest question mark is Jackson Chourio, who felt more discomfort in his hamstring during Game 2 after exiting Game 1.
Cubs: With a righty going for the Brewers, Counsell may stick with the lineup he went with in Game 1 of the NLDS. It was only slightly adjusted from the order utilized in the Wild Card Series. Michael Busch has been in the leadoff spot against righties since mid-July and overall has a .553 slugging percentage with 16 of his 34 home runs as Chicago’s tablesetter. For Game 2, Counsell used veteran Justin Turner in the No. 1 slot with lefty opener Ashby on the hill, but swapped Busch into the game in the middle innings.
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Brewers: The Brewers planned a bullpen game in Game 2 but still have their arms in good shape thanks to the many off-days during this series. Jared Koenig (16 pitches for four outs), Trevor Megill (nine pitches for two outs) and Abner Uribe (13 pitches for three outs) all made quick work on Monday, and Nick Mears was only needed for one out. Veteran lefty Jose Quintana was in the bullpen ready to pitch in Game 2 and said he would do the same for Game 3.
Cubs: Thanks to right-hander Colin Rea handling the final 3 1/3 innings of the Game 2 loss in Milwaukee, the bulk of Chicago’s bullpen remains rested for Game 3. So far, Counsell has not used lefty Caleb Thielbar or righties Brad Keller and Andrew Kittredge in this NLDS. With off-days, that means that late-inning trio will have had five days off in a row since last appearing in the Wild Card Series. Righty Daniel Palencia and lefty Drew Pomeranz appeared in Game 2 in Milwaukee but should be good to go on Wednesday. Righties Michael Soroka and Ben Brown should also be at the ready, if absolutely needed. In an ideal situation, Taillon would be able to cover at least 12 outs for the Cubs, allowing Counsell to turn things over to his main late-inning group.
Brewers: Chourio’s right hamstring is still worth monitoring, even though he was able to play — and hit a huge home run — in Game 2, though he was able to run the bases after hitting a single later in the game. When he exited in the ninth, it appeared to be merely getting him off his feet for the defensively savvy Brandon Lockridge, but instead Chourio had felt more discomfort and will be a game-time decision for Game 3. It was a good sign when he took some batting practice during Milwaukee’s workout at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.
Cubs: Tucker has remained in the DH role since returning in late September from a left calf strain that sidelined him for three-plus weeks. There is no urgency on the Cubs’ part to move Tucker back to the outfield as he continues to build back to full strength on the running front. Expect him to continue with DH duties, but potentially available for outfield, if necessary. … Righty Cade Horton (right rib fracture) has been ruled out for the NLDS, but the rookie threw 15 pitches off the mound in a light bullpen session on Tuesday at Wrigley Field.
Who is hot and who is not?
Brewers: Chourio has only played five postseason games and is already tied for the third-most home runs (three) in Brewers playoff history. Across those games he is hitting .556/.579/1.111 (10-for-18) with four extra-base hits and nine RBIs. … Contreras is hitting .321/.424/.536 (18-for-56) with six extra-base hits in 15 games against the Cubs this season, including the first two games of this series.
Cubs: Suzuki launched a three-run homer in the first inning on Monday night, giving him seven home runs in his last nine games dating back to the regular season. … Hoerner collected two more hits in Game 2, upping his average to .368 (7-for-19) in the postseason to date. … Crow-Armstrong (.222 average), Happ (.105), Shaw (.000) and Swanson (.176) have all been in cold spells in the playoffs.
Anything else fans might want to know?
