Cubs Get Exactly What They Needed From Matthew Boyd To Force Game 5 vs Brewers

Matthew Boyd got the nod for this elimination game as he was trying to bounce back from a brutal showcase in the opener of this series; he did more than that. Boyd threw near five scoreless innings with six strikeouts on only two hits.

The pitching staff hasn't all been bad this series, though, as the bullpen has came through time and time again. Craig Counsell calls his relievers the "out getters" for a reason. Between four guys they finished over four innings with just a lone hit and no runs.

Ian Happ started the game off with a bang for the offense. This is the second game of the series that the Cubs had a three-run homer in the first inning. The Cubs took an immediate 3-0 lead and never looked back.

The team had a chance to break this game wide open in the fifth inning when they had the bases loaded with one lone out but failed to bring a singer runner in. Seiya Suzuki had a questionable strike called on a 3-2 pitch and Ian Happ had a fly out on the very next pitch. Alas, it was still 3-0 going into the sixth with the Brewers well within reach.

In the sixth inning the Cubs bullpen was able to keep the Brewers offense scoreless again. The bats for Chicago had the opportunity again to break this game wide open, but even though they didn't, a couple good things happened: 1) Matt Shaw found his first hit of the entire postseason 2) Carson Kelly crossed home plate.

Kyle Tucker's seventh inning 400-foot bomb was what seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for their victory to force a game five. It did mor than just seal the deal for the Cubs, it gave confidence to the struggling slugger who needed to see a ball leave the park. However, Michael Busch wanted some more assurance in the following inning, so he hit one of his own.

The Cubs have looked like an entire different team these last two games than their first two, but that has been because both starters, Boyd and Jameson Taillon, kept the Brewers in check. Now they will be in a winner-take-all battle with their division rivals as the winner will head to the NLCS to face the Los Angeles Dodgers.