CHICAGO – Matthew Boyd threw a two-hit ball in the fifth inning, and the Chicago Cubs eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night for a 6-0 victory that pushed their NL Division Series all the way to a decisive Game 5.
Ian Happ, Kyle Tucker and Michael Busch homered for Chicago, delighting a rapturous Wrigley Field crowd of 41,770.
Busch went deep for the second straight game and the third time in the series.
The Cubs were on the brink of elimination after dropping the first two games of the NLDS in Milwaukee.
But they held on for a 4-3 victory on Wednesday before taking full advantage of a sharp performance from Boyd and four relievers in Game 4.
Next up is the best-of-five series finale Saturday night in Milwaukee.
The winner will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
The Brewers, who went 97-65 for the best record in the Majors this season, finished with three hits.
They were 1 of 13 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base in the two games of the series at Wrigley.
Boyd also started the series opener on Saturday.
He pitched on three days’ rest and recorded just two outs as Freddy Peralta worked into the sixth inning in Milwaukee’s 9-3 win.
Given another chance, Boyd delivered. The All-Star left-hander struck out six and walked three in 4 2/3 innings.
The 34-year-old Boyd took an early lead when Happ drove a 1-1 fastball from Peralta deep to right for a three-run drive with two outs in the first inning. Nico Hoerner singled and Tucker walked ahead of Happ’s third career postseason homer.
Chicago has gone deep in the first in each of the four NLDS games. It scored 11 of the series’ 16 runs in the first inning.
It was a big moment for Happ, who went 2 for 21 with 11 strikeouts in Chicago’s first six postseason games this year.
The Cubs had a 3-0 lead when Boyd left with runners on second and third in the fifth, drawing a huge ovation from the crowd.
Daniel Palencia came in and retired Jackson Chourio on a pop-up to the shortstop, ending the inning.
Palencia also took sixth place in this third win of the play-offs.
Drew Pomeranz and Brad Keller each got three outs before Caleb Thielbar accounted for the ninth.
Chicago had a bases-loaded opportunity in the fifth, but Matt Shaw hit an RBI single off Aaron Ashby in the sixth.
The rookie third baseman had two hits after going 0 for 12 in his first six postseason games.
Tucker added a leadoff drive in the seventh against Robert Gasser, and Busch connected in the eighth. It was Busch’s fourth homerun in the postseason overall.
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