Brewers unleash a scoring frenzy, pouring in 6 runs in the first inning! Cubs stunned and struggling with both pitching and hitting, suffer a heavy road loss.

For the Brewers, the six-day rest after the regular season didn’t affect their form; instead, it seemed to recharge their energy. In the first game of the National League Division Series, they erupted for 9 runs in the first two innings to secure a solid lead and ultimately cruised to a 9-3 victory over the Cubs, earning a strong start.

The Cubs scored first in the opening inning thanks to Michael Busch’s home run in his first at-bat, but starting left-hander Matthew Boyd, who had only three days’ rest after the wild card game, struggled. Facing eight batters, he gave up four hits and one walk, and a crucial error by second baseman Nico Hoerner compounded the trouble. After throwing 11 consecutive pitches to Blake Perkins, who got a hit, Boyd was pulled after just 30 pitches and 0.2 innings, making him the Cubs' shortest postseason starting pitcher since the 1945 World Series.

Michael Soroka came in as Boyd’s replacement but issued a walk and then gave up a hit to Jackson Chourio, allowing the Brewers to score six runs in the first inning—all charged to Boyd, though only two were earned runs.

Riding their momentum, the Brewers added three more runs in the second inning on five hits, extending the lead to 9-1. Freddy Peralta pitched 5.2 innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out nine, earning his first postseason win.

The Brewers collected 13 hits in total, with 10 coming in the first two innings. Their performance with runners in scoring position was impressive, going 7-for-17. Leadoff hitter Chourio was the standout, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs.

Brice Turang, who had two hits and one RBI, said after the game, “The crowd was so loud, I only heard Brewers fans cheering, no other noise at all. That feeling was really amazing.”

Veteran Christian Yelich recorded one hit and scored a run, commenting, “The stadium’s energy was electric, especially in the first two innings. We live to play games like this.”

Brewers manager Pat Murphy noted that when Cubs manager Craig Counsell’s name was announced, the crowd was almost entirely Brewers fans, with no cheers for the opposing side.

“That definitely made an impact, and our players felt it. Many of our younger players have limited postseason experience or are playing for the first time, but they showed responsibility and were very well prepared. The fans were fully engaged from the very first pitch,” Murphy said.

When asked about Boyd after the game, Counsell responded, “It was our decision to start Matthew Boyd. I don’t know what else to say—he didn’t perform well, but it was a collective choice. Personally, I thought it was the right call, and the whole team supported him taking the mound.”

Boyd himself said, “You always want to pitch and get these opportunities, but the opponent was well prepared, and I made some mistakes early on. Perkins battled hard in that at-bat and eventually won the pitch. Nico usually plays great defense, and my job was to back him up, but that time I lost to Perkins.”

For the Cubs, despite the opening loss, the good news is they have a day off before game two, then another rest day before returning home, allowing their bullpen some time to recover and prepare for the tough battles ahead.