Andrew Vaughn hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning and William Contreras and Brice Turang also went deep as the Milwaukee Brewers shook off their recent history of playoff frustration by beating the Chicago Cubs, 3-1, in the decisive fifth game of their NL Division Series on Saturday.
The Brewers, making their seventh playoff appearance in the last eight years, earned their first postseason series win since sweeping Colorado in the 2018 NLDS. The Brewers were on the verge of their second World Series appearance in franchise history that year before losing Game 7 of the National League Championship Series at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Now, they get another NLCS matchup with the Dodgers, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies in four games in the other NL Division Series. Game 1 is Monday at Milwaukee.
Milwaukee won with an all-hands-on-deck pitching approach in the final game against Chicago. Trevor Megill, Jacob Misiorowski, Aaron Ashby, Chad Patrick and Abner Uribe combined on a four-hitter.
That the Brewers ended their recent history of postseason frustration in this series was particularly sweet for Milwaukee fans because it came against their biggest rival and knocked Cubs manager Craig Counsell out of the postseason.
Counsell grew up in the Milwaukee area, played for the Brewers and became the winningest manager in team history until he left for Chicago.
In the two seasons since Counsell’s departure, Brewers fans have booed every mention of his name whenever the Cubs have visited American Family Field. They did it again Saturday, though the sellout crowd appeared to include more Cubs backers than in Milwaukee’s Game 1 and Game 2 home victories.
The Cubs had forced a Game 5 by winning two straight at Wrigley Field. They were attempting to become the 11th team to erase a 2-0 deficit and win a best-of-five playoff series, something last accomplished by the New York Yankees against Cleveland in their 2017 ALDS.
Homers produced all the runs in this winner-take-all game, and each of Milwaukee’s came with two outs.
Contreras hit a 389-foot shot to left-center off Drew Pomeranz in the first inning. Vaughn sent a 3-2 pitch from Colin Rea over the left-field wall to break a 1-all tie, and Turang provided some insurance with a 416-foot blast to center off Andrew Kittredge in the seventh.
Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki greeted Misiorowski by sending a 101.4-mph fastball into the Cubs bullpen to lead off the second inning, but that’s the only run the rookie right-hander allowed in four innings. Misiorowski struck out three while giving up three hits and walking none to earn his second win of the series.
The young right-hander pitched three innings of shutout relief in Milwaukee’s 7-3 Game 2 triumph.
The Brewers had Misiorowski enter the game in the second inning after Megill worked as the opener and retired the side in order in the first. The Cubs had totaled 11 first-inning runs in the first four games of this series without ever going scoreless in the opening frame.
After Suzuki’s homer, the Cubs didn’t score again.
Chicago’s best threat came when it put two on with nobody out in the sixth against Ashby, who had thrown 32 pitches two nights earlier in Milwaukee’s 6-0 Game 4 loss. Michael Busch hit a leadoff single before Ashby hit Nico Hoerner with a pitch.
Ashby got Kyle Tucker to strike out swinging at a 3-2 pitch for the first out. Patrick then came out of the bullpen and retired Suzuki on a fly to left before Ian Happ struck out looking.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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