Cubs Heading Home After Dropping Do-Or-Die Game 5 vs Brewers

It wasn't hard to believe that this was going to be a bullpen game for both squads, whose starting rotations have been limping along. The Cubs couldn't risk putting Shota Imanaga out there because it went horrendously bad in both of his postseason starts, so it was Drew Pomeranz who threw the first pitch for the Cubs.

The Brewers are arguably the best hitting team in baseball with two outs already on the board, so it was a gut punch when William Contreras hit a bomb on Pomeranz in his first at-bat in the first inning, but not entirely surprising.

It was an eerie feeling to all Cubs fans when the Brewers struck first and with a home run, but Seiya Suzuki quickly pulled momentum back to the dugout with a homer of his own on the young All-Star Jacob Misiorowski no less.

Nobody got the best of Misiorowski again, though, as Suzuki's solo home run was the only run he allowed paired with three strikeouts. Once his time was done, the Cubs' hitters had a solid chance to put some runs on the board, including a pair of runners left stranded in the fifth that would have made all the difference.

By the end of the sixth inning it was still a one-run Brewers' lead (Andrew Vaughn homer in the fourth) even though it felt like Milwaukee had been in control the whole time. They were getting hits, but the Cubs defense would not give up.

But there is only so long that the Brewers can be contained as another solo home run came in the seventh, this time at the expense of pitcher Andrew Kittredge. It was a 415 foot bomb to center field by Brice Turang, the final nail in the Cubs coffin.

At the end of the day it was ultimately the Cubs offense to point a finger at, because it is nearly impossible to win games with only one run on the board. But, if looking at the series, it was the inability of the offense and starting rotation to show up in the same game.

The season is now over for the Cubs, but the Milwaukee Brewers will now go on to face the Los Angeles Dodgers next.