Three Home Runs, One Bitter Ending: Brewers Eliminate Cubs in Winner-Take-All NLDS Showdown

MILWAUKEE

The Chicago Cubs spent five games trying to solve the Milwaukee Brewers.

They had survived elimination twice, extended a series that Milwaukee appeared ready to control and arrived at American Family Field with one final opportunity to defeat the team that had finished ahead of them in the National League Central.

For a moment Saturday, Seiya Suzuki gave Chicago reason to believe.

His second-inning home run tied Game 5 of the National League Division Series, answering Milwaukee's opening strike and silencing some of the anticipation inside a packed ballpark.

But the Brewers kept hitting.

Andrew Vaughn broke the tie in the fourth inning. Brice Turang added a crucial insurance run in the seventh. Milwaukee's pitching staff held Chicago to six baserunners.

The final result was Brewers 3, Cubs 1.

Milwaukee advanced to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2018.

Chicago's season ended.

And the difference came down to three Milwaukee swings, a relentless pitching plan and a Cubs offense that could not create enough opportunities after Suzuki's early answer.

An unusual beginning to Game 5

The Brewers did not approach Saturday's elimination game with a conventional starting-pitching plan.

All-Star closer Trevor Megill took the mound to open the contest.

Milwaukee then turned to rookie Jacob Misiorowski, whose velocity had made him one of the organization's most intriguing young pitchers.

The strategy was designed to prevent Chicago from settling into a predictable rhythm.

It also placed unusual demands on the Brewers' pitching staff.

Every reliever needed to be ready for a meaningful assignment.

Every baserunner could potentially change the game.

And manager Pat Murphy needed to calculate how long each pitcher could remain effective without exposing the roster to an unfavorable matchup.

Chicago, meanwhile, had to adjust to a series of different pitching styles.

The plan worked.

The Cubs never assembled the sustained offensive threat necessary to overcome Milwaukee's advantage.

Contreras strikes first

Milwaukee's offense supplied immediate support.

William Contreras hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning against Drew Pomeranz, giving the Brewers a 1–0 lead.

The swing energized a crowd that understood how much was at stake.

Milwaukee had enjoyed an outstanding regular season, finishing with baseball's best record.

But regular-season success had not translated into recent October advancement.

The Brewers had lost six consecutive postseason series.

The pressure was substantial.

A Game 5 defeat would have extended that streak and ended another season that had raised expectations throughout Wisconsin.

Contreras' home run provided the first indication that Milwaukee intended to approach the night aggressively.

Chicago answered almost immediately.

Suzuki attacks 101.4 mph

Facing Misiorowski in the second inning, Suzuki encountered the kind of velocity that can overwhelm even experienced major league hitters.

The pitch registered at 101.4 mph.

Suzuki sent it over the fence.

The solo home run tied the game 1–1 and matched one of the fastest pitches hit for a postseason home run since pitch tracking began in 2008.

The swing mattered for two reasons.

First, it prevented Milwaukee from building early momentum without resistance.

Second, it demonstrated that Chicago could punish elite velocity when it recognized the right pitch.

The Cubs had struggled against Milwaukee's pitching throughout the series, but Suzuki's home run offered a reminder that one well-timed swing could change the contest.

Chicago was back on even terms.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, the home run would be their only run of the night.

The Vaughn connection

Andrew Vaughn's presence in the middle of Milwaukee's lineup carried an additional Chicago connection.

Vaughn had previously played for the White Sox before joining the Brewers.

Now he was positioned to help eliminate the Cubs.

In the bottom of the fourth, Vaughn hit a solo home run against Colin Rea.

Milwaukee led 2–1.

The homer gave the Brewers control of a game in which neither offense was producing sustained rallies.

With every successful inning from Milwaukee's pitchers, that one-run margin grew more significant.

Chicago still had time.

But the Cubs were running out of opportunities to solve a staff that continued changing pitchers and attacking the strike zone.

A single home run could tie the game.

Two runs could move Chicago ahead.

The difficulty was getting enough runners on base to create those chances.

The bullpen refuses to bend

Milwaukee used five pitchers to complete the victory.

The staff's effectiveness reflected more than the quality of one individual performance.

It was the collective ability to prevent Chicago's lineup from building momentum.

Misiorowski's velocity established a demanding standard early in the game.

Chad Patrick later contributed important outs, including a strikeout of Ian Happ in the sixth inning that ended another Chicago opportunity.

Milwaukee's pitchers limited the Cubs to six baserunners across nine innings.

That figure is central to understanding the result.

A lineup can survive a lack of extra-base hits when it consistently creates traffic on the bases.

Chicago could not do that.

Suzuki's home run accounted for the only Cubs run, and Milwaukee repeatedly prevented the next potential rally from developing.

The Brewers' bullpen strategy carried risk.

But Saturday showed how effective that approach can be when each pitcher executes his assignment.

Turang delivers the final blow

The game remained close entering the seventh.

Milwaukee led 2–1.

Chicago had not produced much offense, but one mistake could still erase the advantage.

Brice Turang changed that calculation.

The Brewers second baseman hit a solo home run against Andrew Kittredge, extending Milwaukee's lead to 3–1.

The run gave the Brewers additional breathing room.

It also forced Chicago to find a way to score twice against a bullpen that had spent the evening avoiding dangerous situations.

For Turang, the home run carried personal significance.

He had struggled offensively earlier in the series.

But on the biggest night of Milwaukee's season, he delivered a swing that made Chicago's comeback attempt considerably more difficult.

The Cubs entered the ninth inning needing two runs.

They never found them.

Milwaukee ends the drought

Abner Uribe recorded the final out when Carson Kelly was retired.

American Family Field erupted.

For the Brewers, the victory ended a postseason series losing streak that had become a defining frustration for the organization.

Milwaukee had repeatedly built competitive teams only to watch October end earlier than expected.

This time, the Brewers advanced.

The accomplishment was especially meaningful because the opponent was Chicago.

The clubs share a division, a geographic rivalry and a history shaped by regular-season competition.

Former Brewers manager Craig Counsell had taken over the Cubs before the 2024 season, adding another layer to an already significant matchup.

Milwaukee's victory therefore carried emotional weight beyond the scoreboard.

The Brewers had eliminated a familiar opponent and earned the opportunity to continue pursuing a championship.

What Chicago takes from October

The Cubs' season ended short of the National League Championship Series.

That disappointment is unavoidable.

But the club also accomplished something meaningful.

Chicago advanced through the Wild Card Series, winning its first postseason series since 2017, and then forced Milwaukee into a deciding fifth game after facing elimination.

The Cubs did not surrender quietly.

They pushed the team with baseball's best regular-season record to the final game of the series.

Yet Saturday exposed a weakness that postseason baseball routinely magnifies.

Chicago could not generate enough offense against high-quality pitching.

Suzuki produced one extraordinary swing.

The rest of the lineup could not provide sufficient support.

Milwaukee needed only three runs to advance.

When the Cubs return to evaluating their roster, their ability to create scoring opportunities against elite pitching will deserve serious attention.

For now, the final image is not another Cubs comeback.

It is Milwaukee celebrating.

Three home runs.

Nine innings.

One team moving forward.

And Chicago heading home.