The Cubs and Phillies were facing elimination but rebounded with Game 3 victories to save their seasons. Even better, both seem well positioned to potentially force a Game 5 on Saturday. But the Brewers and Dodgers still have the advantage and would love to spend the weekend relaxing before the NLCS starts on Monday.
Two things have landed perfectly to give the Phillies the best chance possible to push this series to five games. The first thing is that there was an extra day off after Game 1, which means they will get to start their ace, Sánchez, on full rest in Game 4. It is a little underappreciated how good Sánchez has been all year. The best pitcher, according to Fangraphs WAR, in the postseason is the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal. But the second is Sánchez. And now he’s lined up exactly how the Phillies would want him.
The second thing is that the five runs the Phillies scored in the eighth inning on Wednesday to turn a 3-1 game into a blowout meant Jhoan Duran did not have to come into the game. The Phillies’ flamethrowing closer pitched Games 1 and 2 in Philadelphia but now has had two full days off, which means he could pitch two innings (or more?) for them in Game 4. (Even better: The travel day before a theoretical Game 5 means he’d be able to go in that one, too.) There is a non-zero possibility that only Sánchez and Duran take the mound for the Phillies on Thursday. That’s a scary thought for the Dodgers.
There is nothing quite like the excitement that goes through a stadium when Ohtani comes to the plate. It’s electrifying: We all know we’re watching history. So it’s a little awkward saying this, but: Is Shohei gonna start hitting soon? He was 3-for-9 with two homers in the Wild Card Series against the Reds, but ever since he started Game 1 of the NLDS on the mound, the bat has disappeared.
Ohtani is 1-for-14 in this series, with seven strikeouts and no extra-base hits. He almost had an opposite-field homer late in Game 3 but fell just short. Is it being churlish to point out that after we waited so long to see Ohtani hit in the postseason that he only has a lifetime .214/.340/.405 slash line in his 21 postseason games? That’s not bad, obviously, but it’s not, you know, Shohei.
If this series makes it back to Philadelphia for Game 5, Ohtani is slated to pitch again. But with a couple of well-timed Shohei blasts, it won’t have to get to that point. He is certainly due.
Game 3 was not supposed to be a bullpen game for the Brewers but it quickly turned into one. Starter Quinn Priester had absolutely nothing, giving up four runs and recording only two outs, the sort of performance that made you think, at the time, that the Brewers were about to get blown out. But then five Brewers pitchers — including starter Jose Quintana — came out of the ‘pen and tossed 8 1/3 scoreless innings. Alas: The Brewers still fell a run short of completing the sweep.
Afterward, Brewers manager Pat Murphy declined to announce a Game 4 starter. While Freddy Peralta would seem to be the logical pick on four days of rest, he still went only 5 2/3 innings in his excellent nine-strikeout Game 1 outing. You’d think Quintana and Grant Anderson — who may have saved the Brewers with a combined five scoreless innings on Wednesday — would be off-limits. But everyone else, with a day off before a theoretical Game 5 back in Milwaukee on Saturday, figures to be on the board. That would include rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski, who looked awfully impressive in his three-inning postseason debut in Game 2.
The four runs in the first inning made you think the Cubs offense, which has been struggling mightily outside of Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner, might finally be waking up. Four runs! In one inning! It did not turn out to be much of a wakeup call, as evidenced by the seven scoreless innings that followed.
The Cubs finished fifth in the Majors in runs this season (4.9 per game), but you haven’t been able to tell for most of this series. They’ve scored in the first inning of every game (eight total runs) but in just two of the other 23 innings (two total runs). Even in the Wild Card Series against the Padres, they scored only six runs in three games. Much of that is because of the struggles of their biggest names: Kyle Tucker has managed only five singles in 20 at-bats this postseason; Pete Crow-Armstrong has reached base only five times; Ian Happ and Dansby Swanson are a combined 6-for-41.
The Cubs offense was supposed to be their strength heading into the season, and that’s exactly what happened. But it has mostly shut down exactly when they need it most. Tucker, in particular, is under the spotlight: He doesn’t look to be 100% healthy, but this may be the last chance he has to make an impression before he takes center stage in free agency this offseason.