Predicting who will start the Brewers' crucial Game 5 matchup tomorrow night

27 outs. 27 outs is all that is standing between the Milwaukee Brewers either advancing to the NLCS or having their season end in the most crushing fashion. Covering 27 outs in a must-win game is no easy task, especially with the Brewers lacking a clear starting pitcher for Game 5.

Pat Murphy went with his ace, Freddy Peralta, in Game 4 and ultimately came up short. Once again, a first-inning home run took the wind out of the Brewers' sails, and the offense was unable to muster any semblance of a threat throughout the game.

Ahead of Game 5, one major question looms: who will the Brewers turn to in the win-or-go-home matchup? Without a clear-cut choice like Peralta available, it will be a pitching staff by committee on Saturday night. The only other pitcher, outside of Peralta, who is likely unavailable in tomorrow's game is Robert Gasser, who got hit hard in two innings of work late in Game 4 and ended up tossing 46 pitches. With 10 other pitchers to choose from, what should Pat Murphy do?

The Brewers should start José Quintana in Game 5

The choice that makes the most sense is José Quintana. Quintana threw 49 pitches on Wednesday in Game 3, covering three innings and allowing just two hits, while striking out two hitters. So it would be on short rest, but given the situation, he should be Murphy's choice.

Quintana is the most experienced pitcher on Milwaukee's staff, having been in the league for the last 14 years. To put that in perspective, Jackson Chourio was eight years old when Quintana made his MLB debut in 2012. Quintana has appeared in nine postseason games, more than any other pitcher on the Brewers' NLDS roster, and has been masterful in most of those performances, save for a pair of games that went really wrong. In the Brewers and Mets' winner-takes-all Game 3 in last year's Wild Card Series, Quintana covered five scoreless innings for New York, displaying the impressive poise that Milwaukee needs from their Game 5 starter tomorrow night.

Perhaps most importantly though, Quintana is a left-handed pitcher. His presence would likely force Craig Counsell to start Justin Turner over Michael Busch, much like he did in Game 2 when Aaron Ashby was the opener. Turner has been a Brewers killer in the postseason, but is also fast approaching his 41st birthday. Busch, on the other hand, has been one of the hottest hitters in the postseason, and even taking two at-bats away from him, or forcing him to face a lefty for two at-bats, should Counsell choose to include him in his starting lineup, would be a huge advantage for Milwaukee.

Other options?

While Quintana makes the most sense and should get the start, Milwaukee does have a couple of other options. Jacob Misiorowski made his playoff debut on Monday and will almost certainly factor into the Brewers' formula tomorrow night. The question would be: does Murphy trust the young flamethrower to start the game, or would he prefer to pitch him out of the bullpen?

Murphy could also theoretically turn to Game 3 starter Quinn Priester. Priester only threw 2/3 of an inning in Game 3, tossing just 39 pitches in the short outing. It may not be the worst thing to give him a second chance and hope he bounces back from the rough start in Chicago. After all, he was one of the workhorses of this pitching staff and consistently gave the Brewers a chance to win throughout the regular season.

An outside option could be Chad Patrick. Patrick has been thrust into action in each of the last three games but has been incredible in each appearance. He has combined for three innings of work and hasn't allowed a hit or walk in either appearance.

Luckily, the rest of the bullpen should be at full strength after an off day to regroup. It will be all hands on deck for Game 5, and the Brewers can worry about the NLCS on Monday should they get there.