It All Rides On Jameson Taillon As Cubs Face Elimination In Game 3

Now the series is coming down to game three. The Cubs have no other option but to win this game if there is any chance of getting by the Brewers, with three straight wins needed if they hope to advance.

This will be Taillon's second start of the postseason as he got the call for the final game of the wild card matchup, also a very high stakes game. He finished four full innings with four strikeouts and only two hits (no earned runs).

A Struggling Starting Rotation

The Brewers are not a team that you can allow to get going and unfortunately for the Cubs their offense could not be stopped in either of the first two games. However, it wasn't necessarily at the fault of the bullpen, but rather with the two who were named starters- Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga.

Boyd took the mound in the opener, but he didn't last long. Craig Counsell pulled him before the first inning was even over as Milwaukee lit him up from the get-go. He had six runs scored on four hits before his time was done and the first inning didn't prove to be much better in game two.

Shota Imanaga got the nod when the Cubs found themselves down in the series already. His struggles in the first inning are well known around baseball and that proved no different in game two. Imanaga allowed a three-run homer to Andrew Vaughn in the first and another home run in the third before it was time for him to return to the dugout.

It is nearly impossible for any team to find success when they are fighting out of a hole from the start. Taillon has to keep the Brewers offense in check if there is any chance of them moving on to the NL Championship. Right now the ballclub has to take it one game at a time and that starts with Taillon.