In a tense, wind-swept battle at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs staved off elimination with a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on October 8, 2025. Trailing 2-0 in the best-of-five series, the Cubs exploded for four runs in the bottom of the first inning and leaned on a gritty pitching performance to hand the Brewers their first loss of the postseason, setting up a do-or-die Game 4 on Thursday night.
The game got off to a chaotic start under the tricky early-evening conditions, with shadows and a gusty wind off Lake Michigan playing havoc on both sides. Milwaukee struck first in the top of the inning against Cubs starter Jameson Taillon. After a leadoff double by Christian Yelich and a walk to Willy Adames, William Contreras lifted a pop-up behind first base that first baseman Michael Busch lost in the twilight, allowing it to drop for a single and loading the bases with one out. Sal Frelick followed with a deep sacrifice fly to left field, plating Yelich for a 1-0 Brewers lead. Taillon, however, steadied the ship by retiring Caleb Durbin on a flyout to escape further damage.
The Cubs wasted no time responding in the bottom half, turning the script in dramatic fashion against Brewers opener Jose Quintana. Leadoff hitter Michael Busch crushed a 377-foot solo home run to right-center, tying the game at 1-1 and marking his third homer of the postseason—making him the first player in MLB history to hit multiple leadoff homers in the same series. Nico Hoerner then singled sharply up the middle, and Kyle Tucker drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Ian Happ worked a free pass to load the bases with two outs, chasing Quintana after just 0.2 innings and 39 pitches—the most thrown by any team in a playoff first inning since 1988.
Enter reliever Nathan Mears, who couldn’t stem the tide. Pete Crow-Armstrong roped a two-run single to right field, scoring Hoerner and Tucker to give Chicago a 3-1 cushion. The Wrigley faithful erupted, even breaking into an impromptu “YMCA” dance that shook the press box during the ensuing pitching change. Moments later, with Crow-Armstrong on second after a steal, Happ scampered home on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 4-1 and capping a marathon frame that saw the Cubs send 10 men to the plate.
From there, the offenses went quiet as both starters settled in. Taillon, who delivered the Cubs’ strongest start of the series with four innings of two-run ball, navigated a bases-loaded jam in the fourth by inducing a fielder’s choice grounder from Joey Ortiz. Milwaukee chipped away in that frame, though, as Jake Bauers laced an RBI single up the middle to score Frelick from third, trimming the deficit to 4-2. The Brewers pulled within one in the seventh when Bauers launched a 364-foot solo homer to left-center off Cubs reliever Brad Keller, injecting late drama into the affair.
But Chicago’s bullpen—featuring Rex Pomeranz, Jason Kittredge, and closer Hector Neris—slammed the door over the final two innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three. The Cubs’ defense flashed leather too, with right fielder Sal Frelick’s sliding catch robbing Seiya Suzuki of extra bases in the first. After the game, Cubs manager Craig Counsell, who knows the Brewers well from his time in Milwaukee, emphasized the mindset: “In the end, it boils down to just taking care of pitches, taking care of the moment and not getting past it. Win the moment and then move on to the next one.”
Standouts for the Cubs included Busch (1-for-4, HR, RBI) and Crow-Armstrong (2-for-4, 2 RBI), whose clutch hit ignited the comeback. Taillon earned the win (4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 K), while Bauers paced the Brewers with a 2-for-4 night featuring a homer, single, and two RBI. The victory extends Chicago’s season for the second time in 2025 when facing elimination, but they’ll need to channel this momentum against Milwaukee ace Freddy Peralta in Game 4 to even the series. First pitch is set for 8:08 p.m. ET at Wrigley.
