Brewers face uphill battle in securing early lead in Game 5

To pay homage to Pat Murphy's favorite playwright: "To open or not to open, that is the question this postseason."

Throughout the MLB postseason and particularly in the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs' NLDS matchup, one dominating topic when it comes to each manager’s pitching decisions is whether or not each team should be using an "opener" as their first pitcher out of the gates. For those unfamiliar with the term "opener," it refers to a pitcher, generally a reliever, who pitches the first inning before a traditional starting pitcher enters for the middle innings and covers the bulk of the game without technically starting it.

Given the Brewers and Cubs' record-setting number of runs scored in the first inning during the NLDS, fans have speculated whether or not each team should be using an opener to neutralize the first-inning threat posed by each offense. So far, only Pat Murphy has adopted the strategy, turning to Aaron Ashby in Game 2, who ended up allowing a three-run homer to Seiya Suzuki, supporting the "anti-opener" argument.

However, with Freddy Peralta allowing first-inning home runs in each of his two starts in the NLDS, and Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd each struggling with the first inning during their starts in Milwaukee at the beginning of the series, paired with the fact that a majority of the scoring in this series has come in the first inning, the argument for using an opener remains strong.

Just moments ago, Craig Counsell revealed that he will use the opener strategy in tonight's game, and his choice makes for a difficult matchup for Brewers hitters.

Drew Pomeranz to open Game 5 for the Chicago Cubs

Brewers fans are all too familiar with Drew Pomeranz. Not only did he play a part in the team's 2019 Wild Card run, but he has also appeared in three of the four games in the NLDS. Up to this point, he's been spotless. Pomeranz hasn't allowed a single baserunner in each of those three appearances, and dating back to the regular season, he's retired 22 straight batters, as pointed out by TBS and Fan Duel Sports Network's expert statistician Dominic Cotroneo on the social media platform X.

Yes, Pomeranz is in his element right now, but he hasn't exactly been the picture of consistency throughout his career or this season for that matter. Despite finishing the season with a 2.17 ERA, Pomeranz carried a 9.45 ERA through 10 appearances in the month of July. For four weeks during the summer, the Cubs' left-hander simply lost it.

Additionally, his expected ERA being nearly a run and a half higher than his actual ERA, paired with a relatively low BABIP (batting average on balls in play), tells a story of Pomeranz lucking into some stronger numbers than he deserved this season.

However, as Cotroneo explains, Pomeranz found his groove over the final weeks of the regular season and it has continued into October. On top of that, the Brewers' hitters haven't seen Pomeranz much throughout their careers, and the ones that have collected more than three at-bats against the burly southpaw have struggled mightily. No Brewer on the NLDS roster has more than one hit off Pomeranz in their career.

In a series where the results have often been decided in the first inning, Counsell's decision to start Pomeranz is a savvy one, but it doesn't guarantee anything. On top of that, it has yet to be revealed who will follow Pomeranz in the Cubs' pitching plans tonight. Fans are not yet sure if Pomeranz is a true opener, with a starting option like Shota Imanaga or Colin Rea being Counsell's second arm in the game, or if Chicago will elect for a bullpen game, turning to a new pitcher every one or two innings.

The pressure now turns to Pat Murphy to counter with a sharp pitching decision of his own. Milwaukee's starter for tonight's game has yet to be revealed.