MILWAUKEE — MILWAUKEE (AP) \u2014 Working as a starting pitcher in the NL Division Series between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers has been one tough job.<\/p>\n
Twenty-one of the 35 runs in the series have been scored in the first inning. The series concludes on Saturday night with a winner-take-all Game 5 to determine which of these NL Central rivals will face the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> in the NL Championship Series.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s way more common than you think, for pitchers to be vulnerable in the first inning,\u201d Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Friday. \u201cEverybody\u2019s geeked up. The atmosphere is way different. And I think that\u2019s something that is noted.\u201d<\/p>\n So perhaps it’s no surprise that neither Murphy nor Cubs manager Craig Counsell announced their Game 5 starting pitchers a day in advance.<\/p>\n The Cubs have the option of turning to Game 2 loser Shota Imanaga on four days\u2019 rest, but he posted a 6.51 ERA in September and has allowed six runs over 6 2\/3 innings in two appearances this postseason.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the exception of (Game 4 starter) Matt Boyd, everyone\u2019s going to be available,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cAnd so it\u2019s a clich\u00e9 here, but we have 11 pitchers to figure out how to get 27 outs. That\u2019s how we\u2019re treating it.\u201d<\/p>\n Milwaukee could use a similar approach to its Game 2 strategy, when seven different pitchers contributed to a 7-3 victory.<\/a> Murphy noted that Aaron Ashby would be available after throwing 32 pitches in the Brewers’ Game 4 loss<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n Murphy listed Ashby, Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, Trevor Megill, Chad Patrick and Jacob Misiorowski<\/a> as guys who are \u201cgoing to probably pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of those guys are rookies, a lot of those guys are not very experienced, but that\u2019s how we\u2019ve won all these games and come together,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cNow we\u2019re playing in a way bigger environment, and it\u2019s a bigger task. But I\u2019m confident that we\u2019ll have enough pitching.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cubs are trying to become the 11th team to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games. The last team to do it was the New York Yankees against Cleveland in the 2017 AL Division Series.<\/a><\/p>\n Saturday’s winning team would open the NLCS on Monday. The Brewers would host the Dodgers for the start of the series, while the Cubs would travel to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Chicago has reached this point by winning each of its last three elimination games, though all of them were at home. The Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 in the decisive third game<\/a> of their Wild Card Series, and they brought this series back to Milwaukee by winning 4-3 in Game 3<\/a> and 6-0 in Game 4.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI feel like it\u2019s an even slate,\u201d Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said after the Game 4 victory. \u201cGame 5. Both teams have had great moments in this series. I love where our group\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n Milwaukee is trying to change its recent history of postseason frustration.<\/p>\n The Brewers are in the playoffs for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, but their last postseason series win was in the 2018 NLDS. They lost Game 7 at home to the Dodgers in the NLCS<\/a> that year and are 4-13 in their last 17 playoff games.<\/p>\n Murphy remains confident in the Brewers’ chances as they look to bounce back from two straight losses in Chicago.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re five wins away from the World Series,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cI’ve learned a lot about this team, and one thing it is, it’s resilient, and they bounce back.\u201d<\/p>\n Milwaukee suffered one of its most heartbreaking playoff exits last year, when the Brewers led the New York Mets 2-0 heading into the ninth inning of Game 3 in the NL Wild Card Series before Pete Alonso<\/a> hit a three-run homer off Devin Williams<\/a> as part of a four-run rally.<\/a><\/p>\n Losing this series would be just about as painful for Brewers fans because it\u2019s against one of their biggest rivals and Counsell,<\/a> the longtime Milwaukee manager who grew up in the area but left his hometown team<\/a> to join the Cubs.<\/a><\/p>\n Counsell has downplayed the personal aspect of this matchup throughout the series.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just thinking about how do we advance,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like the opponent doesn\u2019t matter right now. How do we advance? Because who you play and all those stories around that, that doesn\u2019t matter. How do we advance? That\u2019s really been my focus.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n