First-inning woes continue to plague Brewers in Game 4 loss

The ball was clearly in the Milwaukee Brewers’ court after the first two games of the NLDS. Scoring 16 runs and collecting two wins against their division rivals, the Chicago Cubs, instilled a confidence in the top-seeded Brewers that took just a minor hit when the team dropped Game 3 to the North Siders on Wednesday night. However, that confidence is now being tested, as the Brewers dropped their second-straight game at Wrigley Field this evening, forcing a winner-takes-all Game 5 at American Family Field on Saturday night.

The story of Game 4 was a familiar one. In the bottom of the first inning, after nearly escaping a jam unscathed, the Brewers' ace, Freddy Peralta, allowed a crushing three-run homer to long-time Cub Ian Happ, immediately putting Milwaukee in a hole that they failed to climb out of before the end of the game. However, whereas in Game 3, when the Brewers' offense made things interesting, tonight they were quiet as can be, not even scratching a single run across against the Cubs' taxed pitching staff.

Matthew Boyd turned things around entirely from his Game 1 performance in which the Brewers plated six runs and forced him out of the game before the end of the first inning. Tonight, he looked more like his first-half self that earned a spot on the National League's All-Star Game roster. Boyd tossed 4.2 scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits and collecting six strikeouts in the process. Followed by a spotless performance from the Cubs' bullpen and three add-on runs by the Cubs, and the Brewers' never even made it a game.

Ian Happ's first-inning three-run homer kicks off Cubs' Game 4 rout of Brewers

Things really couldn't have gone much worse for the Brewers in Game 4. They burned their ace, who didn't give them much length nor a good chance to win. Their offense was nonexistent, with just two batters making it past second base. Their bullpen experienced its first major blemish of the postseason, with Aaron Ashby and Robert Gasser each allowing runs in their appearances. And, they lost all of the momentum that they gained from their impressive victories in Games 1 and 2.

The good news? The series isn't done yet, and all of the disappointment from the last two days melts away if the Brewers win Game 5 on Saturday afternoon and advance to the NLCS.

Question marks certainly remain in regard to who the Brewers will throw in the winner-takes-all Game 5 back at American Family Field on Saturday, especially after Pat Murphy elected to throw Ashby, Chad Patrick, and Robert Gasser, three starting options, in relief in Game 4. The off-day tomorrow means that none of those three can be ruled out from starting Saturday's game, but in Patrick and Ashby's case, it would mean each of them making their fourth appearance of the postseason.

It's certainly not an easy two games to stomach, but the Brewers need to put the losses behind them as soon as they can; Milwaukee stands no chance if they continue to dwell on their time in Wrigleyville and allow past events to impact their play in Game 5.