Brewers top Cubs to make first NLCS since 2018

MILWAUKEE -- Andrew Vaughn deed a tiebreaking homer successful the 4th inning and William Contreras and Brice Turang besides went heavy arsenic the Milwaukee Brewers shook disconnected their caller past of playoff vexation by beating the Chicago Cubs 3-1 successful the decisive 5th crippled of their NL Division Series connected Saturday.

The Brewers, making their seventh playoff appearance successful the past 8 years, earned their archetypal postseason bid triumph since sweeping Colorado successful the 2018 NLDS. The Brewers were connected the verge of their 2nd World Series quality successful franchise past that twelvemonth earlier losing Game 7 of the National League Championship Series astatine location to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now they get different NLCS matchup with the Dodgers, who bushed the Philadelphia Phillies successful 4 games successful the different NL Division Series. Game 1 is Monday astatine Milwaukee.

Milwaukee won with an all-hands-on-deck pitching attack successful the last crippled against Chicago. Trevor Megill, Jacob Misiorowski, Aaron Ashby, Chad Patrick and Abner Uribe combined connected a four-hitter.

That the Brewers ended their caller past of postseason vexation successful this bid was peculiarly saccharine for Milwaukee fans due to the fact that it came against their biggest rival and knocked Cubs manager Craig Counsell retired of the postseason.

Counsell grew up successful the Milwaukee area, played for the Brewers and became the winningest manager successful squad past until helium near for Chicago.

In the 2 seasons since Counsell's departure, Brewers fans person booed each notation of his sanction whenever the Cubs person visited American Family Field. They did it again Saturday, though the sellout assemblage appeared to see much Cubs backers than successful Milwaukee's Game 1 and Game 2 location victories.

The Cubs had forced a Game 5 by winning 2 consecutive astatine Wrigley Field. They were attempting to go the 11th squad to erase a 2-0 shortage and triumph a best-of-five playoff series, thing past accomplished by the New York Yankees against Cleveland successful their 2017 ALDS.

Homers produced each the runs successful this winner-take-all game, and each of Milwaukee's came with 2 outs.

Contreras deed a 389-foot changeable to left-center disconnected Drew Pomeranz successful the archetypal inning. Vaughn sent a 3-2 transportation from Colin Rea implicit the left-field partition to interruption a 1-all tie, and Turang provided immoderate security with a 416-foot blast to halfway disconnected Andrew Kittredge successful the seventh.

Chicago's Seiya Suzuki greeted Misiorowski by sending a 101.4-mph fastball into the Cubs bullpen to pb disconnected the 2nd inning, but that's the lone tally the rookie right-hander allowed successful 4 innings. Misiorowski struck retired 3 portion giving up 3 hits and walking nary to gain his 2nd triumph of the series.

The young right-hander pitched 3 innings of shutout alleviation successful Milwaukee's 7-3 Game 2 triumph.

The Brewers had Misiorowski participate the crippled successful the 2nd inning aft Megill worked arsenic the opener and retired the broadside successful bid successful the first. The Cubs had totaled 11 first-inning runs successful the archetypal 4 games of this bid without ever going scoreless successful the opening frame.

After Suzuki's homer, the Cubs didn't people again.

Chicago's champion menace came erstwhile it enactment 2 connected with cipher retired successful the sixth against Ashby, who had thrown 32 pitches 2 nights earlier successful Milwaukee's 6-0 Game 4 loss. Michael Busch deed a leadoff azygous earlier Ashby deed Nico Hoerner with a pitch.

Ashby got Kyle ...