Cubs first baseman Michael Busch rarely shows emotion. He, like many of his teammates, usually has a stoic demeanor.
But with the Cubs’ backs against the wall in a win-or-go-home Game 3 on Wednesday at Wrigley Field, Busch cracked a smile while rounding the bases after his leadoff home run in the first inning tied the score and kick-started the offense.
The Cubs’ four-run first inning propelled them to a 4-3 victory against the Brewers in the National League Division Series, forcing a Game 4 on Thursday.
Busch might be quiet — he doesn’t garner the headlines of Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker — but his game has been loud this postseason.
‘‘He’s come into his own,’’ Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
For the playoffs, Busch is batting .300/.364/.750. His homer Wednesday made him the first player to have multiple leadoff homers in a playoff series in MLB history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Busch has grown and developed into a force at the top of the lineup. His 34 homers in the regular season were the most by a Cubs first baseman since Anthony Rizzo in 2017.
‘‘He’s become the guy in the lineup that everybody’s thinking about,’’ manager Craig Counsell said.
The Cubs also were able to string together some good at-bats behind Busch in their four-run first.
After Busch’s homer, Nico Hoerner singled and Tucker walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. Seiya Suzuki then flied to right, which allowed Hoerner to advance to third.
‘‘Nico getting on base right away … it’s not going to be a one-run inning,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘You’re gonna have a tough inning again.’’
Ian Happ continued applying the pressure to Brewers starter Quinn Priester by drawing his first walk of the series to load the bases. After Carson Kelly struck out, a two-run single by Crow-Armstrong gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead. A wild pitch by reliever Nick Mears then enabled Happ to score to make it 4-1 before the inning ended.
Despite the victory, the offense still left runs on the table. Counsell brought up a missed chance to put the game out of reach in the third. The Cubs had runners on first and second with no outs, but Kelly flied to right, Crow-Armstrong struck out and Dansby Swanson grounded out to let reliever Jose Quintana off the ropes.
The offense did just enough to stave off elimination and grant the fans one more game at Wrigley, in part because Busch’s homer brought the energy back after the Cubs fell behind 1-0.
Busch has produced more than the Cubs could have hoped for when they acquired him from the Dodgers in January 2024. In addition to his bat, he has been a reliable defender and has become a stalwart at a position that had become a revolving door for the Cubs after they traded Rizzo in 2021.
To beat the Brewers, the Cubs will need more production beyond Busch. But you can feel how his success trickles down the lineup.
‘‘Michael hitting [the first-inning] homer adds so much comfort for the rest of the inning,’’ Crow-Armstrong said.
