CHICAGO — The Cubs know exactly what they need to do to get back in the NL Division Series.
Well, beyond “win games,” though it really is as simple as that.
But how do the Cubs get back in the win column against a Milwaukee Brewers team that looks borderline unstoppable through the first two games of the series?
“You have to take it one game at a time,” Cubs left fielder Ian Happ said. “You can’t look at it as this daunting three games. You have to take it as win tomorrow, win tomorrow. That’s the only thing we can do as a group is win on Wednesday and go from there.”
The Cubs are down 2-0 in this best-of-three NLDS and now face elimination. The only way to advance to their first NLCS since 2017 is to win three straight games against the team that racked up the best record in baseball in the regular season.
And a team that is red hot.
The Brewers have come out firing on all cylinders in this series, with a relentless offense, clutch pitching and a bullpen that just set a new MLB record Monday night in Milwaukee:
Here’s how the Cubs could right the ship and chart a course toward a series victory:
Offensive turnaround
The Cubs have not scored more than three runs in any of the five postseason games they have played — a surprising feat given they won two of those games.
It’s also surprising because the home run ball has been there for the Cubs — they have four homers in two games in the NLDS, and are actually out-homering the Brewers so far (four to three). The Cubs also hit three homers in the NL Wild Card Series.
But it is the sign of a worrisome trend.
Since the start of September, the Cubs have not scored more than three runs in nearly half their games (14 of 30), including the playoffs.
In fact, since the beginning of August, this lineup has failed to tally more than three runs in 51% of its games (30 out of 59).
The Cubs are just too reliant on the longball right now.
In the five playoff games, the Cubs are only 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position. One of those hits was Seiya Suzuki’s three-run shot in the first inning of Monday’s loss. The other was Pete Crow-Armstrong’s single in Game 3 of Thursday’s wild-card clincher.
Runs are at a premium in the postseason, but if the Cubs are going to keep playing deeper into October, the lineup needs to break through.
“We as an offense have to find a way to put up a few more and help our pitchers out a little bit more,” Happ said. “That’s the one thing going into Wednesday. We’ve won a few games here in the playoffs but haven’t scored a bunch of runs. So hanging a few crooked numbers will help out.”
A ‘simple idea’
There is an easy path to putting things together offensively.
The Cubs have at least 11 strikeouts in every postseason game so far, racking up 58 whiffs in five games against only 10 walks.
Dansby Swanson (11 strikeouts), Crow-Armstrong (10), and Happ (nine) are the biggest culprits. But the entire lineup is struggling to put the ball in play right now as the Cubs have faced elite pitching from the San Diego Padres and the Brewers.
“There’s been a lot of strikeouts,” Crow-Armstrong admitted. “[The Brewers are] also playing good baseball.”
He’s right: The other teams deserve some credit, too. The Brewers and Padres were two of the better teams in baseball at preventing runs in the regular season.
And now with the nature of postseason scheduling with all the off-days, those two teams can rely on just their top arms.
So the Cubs are facing the best of the best from the other team’s bullpen. That includes San Diego’s Mason Miller — who hit 105 mph in the wild-card series — and Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, who touched 104 mph in Monday’s game.
“Hitting 100’s hard,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Hitting 100’s always going to be hard. Hitting’s hard. Putting runs up in big-league games is hard. This sport that we play is hard. It’s not a surprise that they’re going out there throwing their best arms and all those guys seem to be locked in.
“It’s our job to execute. I know I haven’t done that. I think it’s a pretty simple idea here: We put more balls in play and we’ll probably score more runs.”
Setting a tone
The Cubs have some major concerns on the starting pitching front with ace Cade Horton still sidelined through at least the rest of the NLDS. Obviously, the Cubs would have to win the next three games in a row to see if the 24-year-old phenom would be able to contribute at all on the mound in an NLCS.
But to get to that point, the Cubs’ starters will have to lock it in.
Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga combined to get just 10 outs in the first two games of the NLDS. In a postseason world where bullpens seemingly take on more and more importance each year, that is still a completely unsustainable model.
The Cubs will need more from Jameson Taillon in Game 3 Wednesday — and then Boyd and Imanaga, or whoever else they choose to start in a potential Game 4 and 5 Thursday and Saturday.
The bullpen has largely pitched well this postseason, but they can’t keep pitching seven or more innings a night.
“The path starts [with] a Wednesday game and it’s a Jameson Taillon good start that gets us into the game,” Counsell said. “We’ve got to get our starters into the game.
“That has to happen, especially if you’re going to try to win three games in four days.”
Home cooking
The Cubs have embraced Wrigley Field and the support from Cubs fans all season.
A potential Game 5 would be right back in Milwaukee, where the Brewers took it to the Cubs in the first two games of this series.
But for the NLDS to even get to that point, the Cubs will have to win a pair of games at home first.
“We’re always looking forward to playing more baseball at Wrigley,” Crow-Armstrong said. “… I think we’re definitely looking forward to going home and playing in front of our crowd. Going to work and getting two more and bring it back here [to Milwaukee].”
Make history
The Cubs have responded to adversity all year.
They navigated nearly two months without their top two starting pitchers (Imanaga, Justin Steele), withstood the difficult travel situation with the Tokyo Series to begin the year and much more throughout the 2025 regular season.
But they’ll need to do it again now — with no margin for error.
No MLB team has come back from a 2-0 deficit in the Division Series since the New York Yankees turned the trick against Cleveland in 2017.
It has only happened seven other times in MLB history:
2013: Blue Jays over Rangers
2012: Giants over Reds
2003: Red Sox over A’s
2001: Yankees over A’s
1999: Red Sox over Cleveland
1995: Mariners over Yankees
1981: Dodgers over Astros
Can the Cubs become the ninth team ever — and only the third NL team — to climb out of a 2-0 hole?
“Absolutely,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I’d be a fool if I was here and didn’t think so. So, yeah, that’s why we’re here.”
The Cubs know what’s at stake. But they can’t go out and win three games in one day.
“You gotta believe in it,” Happ said. “You gotta believe that you take the game Wednesday and go from there. That’s all we can do is focus on one at a time, and get home and play a good game on Wednesday.
“… You have to take it one game at a time. You can’t look at it as this daunting three games. You have to take it as win tomorrow, win tomorrow. That’s the only thing we can do as a group is win on Wednesday and go from there.”
