After the Cubs beat the Brewers 4-3 on Wednesday to force a Game 4 in the National League Division Series, manager Craig Counsell said he needed to have “one more conversation” before announcing his starter for Thursday.
Regardless of the exact pitching plan for Game 4, left-hander Matthew Boyd said he’ll be ready to take the mound whenever called upon.
“I know what I’m going to do,” he said. “You go compete, and you leave it all out there on the field.”
Boyd started Game 1 of the NLDS, with disastrous results. Pitching on short rest, he allowed six runs — only two of which were earned because of an error by second baseman Nico Hoerner — and didn’t make it out of the first inning.
“Baseball’s so weird,” Boyd said. “You can do what you want [on the mound], and you don’t get the desired result. Those days inevitably will happen. That being said, when they do happen, you always are excited for the next one, and I’m excited for another shot to go out there and just help my team win a ballgame.”
Down 2-1 in the best-of-five series, the Cubs are still facing playoff elimination. They’ll need something closer to Boyd’s first start of the postseason — when he limited the Padres to one run and four his in 4⅓ innings last week at Wrigley Field — to extend their postseason run.
“He was our guy from start to finish this year,” said right-hander Jameson Taillon, who started Wednesday. “And after he had that Game 1 outing, I was just thinking to myself, ‘If we could find a way to get him the ball again, he’s too smart, he’s too disciplined and motivated and sharp, to not find a way to have success and go out there and have a big game.”
Taillon navigates traffic
Taillon has helped pull back the team from the brink of elimination twice, first in the wild-card series against the Padres and again against the Brewers, whom he held to two runs in four innings.
“Jamo really escaped two innings essentially, the first and the fourth, and he had to make big pitches in both innings,” Counsell said. “That’s why you want Jamo out there. It’s the calm in the storm, and nothing fazed him. … That’s what being a good pitcher is about. A run scores, and you don’t get flustered. You don’t change anything. You just keep making pitches.
“For Jamo to just put up single runs in those innings was really important, especially with how the game unfolded.”
Both innings had their quirks. The first included a fluky pop-up base hit that first baseman Michael Busch lost in the sun.
Then with one out in the fourth, Taillon fell behind 2-0 in the count to three straight batters. All three hit singles, and Jake Bauers’ drove in a run.
But Taillon needed just three more pitches to get out of the jam — with a bunt-ready defense cutting down the lead runner.
Busch caught Brewers baserunner Caleb Durbin in a rundown between third and home, each turn punctuated by reactions from a lively crowd. It ended with a smattering of laughter as Durbin tried to roll away from Busch’s tag.
Horton clears first hurdle
Right-hander Cade Horton (fractured rib) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday after his light, 15-pitch bullpen Tuesday went “really well,” according to Counsell.
Horton is hopeful he’ll be able to return for the National League Championship Series if the Cubs advance. Without time to build up, he likely would be in a relief role in that scenario.
