Moments That Doomed The Cubs In NLDS Game 5 Against Brewers

Chicago still had a good chance to push across the tying run as right-hander Chad Patrick replaced Ashby on the mound. Seiya Suzuki, whose second-inning solo homer accounted for the Cubs' lone run, made solid contact on a cutter from Patrick but lined out to Jackson Chourio in left field. That left the inning up to Ian Happ, who took a called third strike on the outside edge to end the inning.

In their eight postseason games this year, the Cubs collected just five hits with runners in scoring position. In this game, they finished with just four hits in total and none after that sixth-inning wasted opportunity.

"That was the inning with the middle of the lineup up," manager Craig Counsell said. "It's really the only inning you can talk about. We just didn't do much. We had six baserunners. You're going to have to hit homers to have any runs scoring in scenarios like that. They pitched very well."

Opener strategy backfires

Drew Pomeranz had retired all 15 batters he faced this postseason when Chicago announced that he would be the opener for Saturday night's game. But he was not his sharpest self. Chourio worked Pomeranz for seven pitches before taking a called third strike, and Brice Turang hit a sharp fly ball that Pete Crow-Armstrong ran down in center field.

That brought up Contreras, who had delivered a go-ahead home run in Game 2 of the series. Pomeranz threw almost all fastballs to the Brewers' backstop, who worked the count full before jumping all over a 94-mph heater on the outer half of the plate. His 389-foot solo home run into the Milwaukee bullpen gave the home crowd its first chance to roar.

There goes that man again

Andrew Vaughn was once a top prospect, drafted by the Chicago White Sox third overall in 2019. By 2021, he was a starter on a White Sox team that won a division title. But his production steadily declined over the next few years on Chicago's South Side, and he was playing in Triple-A when the Brewers swung a deal for him in June — dealing right-hander Aaron Civale, who would later wind up with the Cubs.

Milwaukee recalled Vaughn in early July, and he immediately went on a tear, helping the Brewers overtake the Cubs in the NL Central and finish with MLB's best record. His three-run homer in the first inning flipped the script in Game 2 as Milwaukee grabbed a 2-0 series lead. And he stepped to the plate with two outs in the fourth Saturday night, facing former Brewer Colin Rea.

On a 3-2 pitch, Rea missed his spot with a cutter that stayed out over the middle of the plate. Vaughn got just enough of it to send it out over the left-field fence, giving Milwaukee the lead for good.

"I'm disappointed. I'm sad," Counsell said. "This team did a lot to honor the Chicago Cub uniform. In the big picture, that's how I feel. But what did we do wrong tonight? That's what you're stuck on, and why couldn't we get anything going. It's hard to get past that right now."