AP Photo/Erin Hooley

The Rundown: Cubs Force Game 5 by Blasting Brewers, Perseverance Pays Off for Happ & Boyd, Dodgers Oust Phillies

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterOctober 10, 2025

“The spray flies as the speedboat glides, and people forget, forget they’re hiding.” – Eminence Front by The Who

The art of destruction dictates that sometimes things fall apart so that better things can fall together, an appropriate baseball hypothesis, particularly at this time of year when leaves change colors and elimination games become part of our daily conversation. The Cubs have won three consecutive do-or-die games, and if they win another, they’ll advance to the NLCS for a seven-game series with the Dodgers. Oh, sorry. I apologize to any Nietzsche fans who were directed here by the first sentence or my SEO keywords and phrases. My regrets to fans of Dr. Who as well. This is a baseball blog.

Anyway, things have a way of evening up; unless you’re Michael Busch, who has suddenly become the Cubs’ postseason clutch version of Michael Jordan. For example, there is the impermanence of the regular season standings once the playoffs begin. The Cubs have won three straight games 14 times this season, and a 15th means…well, you know. The Brewers, who had winning streaks of 11 and 14 games, lost three in a row seven times. They’ll start planning their vacations and time with their wives and kids if they lose on Saturday.

Milwaukee, by the way, is fully aware of the philosophies of recurrence and will to power, both subtexts to the art of destruction. They perpetually overachieve in the regular season, which culminated in a franchise record 97 wins this year. Still, they’ve failed to advance in seven of their last eight playoff series. The rewards of being baseball’s best regular-season team led to their first postseason meeting with the Cubs, which is now nothing more than a single-elimination game on their home turf. Chicago has a chance to atone for hosting and losing Game 163 in 2018, the inflection point in a 27-year rivalry that has ultimately brought both teams to this moment, though by drastically different strategies.

Last night’s 6-0 win put Chicago’s North Side Baseballers in a position to put five years of frustrating also-ran baseball behind them. I’m not knocking the Brewers, as they’d just as likely be in this position were they fielding a lineup that included Frank Schwindel, Rafael Ortega, Nick Madrigal, and Michael Hermosillo. That franchise has earned its props, especially when you consider the laureate who currently manages that team is a barstool intellect in buffoonery costume.

Pat Murphy — amidst all that faux humility and behind that “aww shucks” demeanor — is a mercenary. His managerial mantra is straight out of a World War II novel: “Don’t look up, don’t complain, don’t explain, and just keep going.”

Don’t worry if you lose your left leg to a hand grenade; that’s why God also gave you a right leg. Milwaukee’s manager is equal parts Don Zimmer and George Patton, and it works. No team has done more with less than the Brewers, and that is the highest compliment possible, especially when playing a win-or-walk game against a division rival that annually outspends you two to one.

“I don’t want to look from 30,000 feet and say what does this mean or what does that mean?” said Murphy, proud owner of a “200 Club” tattoo on his right bicep. “We learn from every situation, every adversity, every punch in the mouth. Don’t look up and don’t complain. Don’t explain. Just keep going. … The contract, the money, the standings, all that outside stuff that is a result of your [relentlessness], let that just be as it may. We’ll look up when it’s time to look up.”

In layman’s terms, Murphy is saying, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” That’s why he calls his team a bunch of Average Joes, and that leads me to my point: The art of destruction means not giving up until fulfillment wholly presents itself. We don’t want a repeat of Game 163, and nobody wants to block off an hour on Monday for Jed Hoyer’s end-of-season autopsy. It’s time for the Cubs to adopt their own doctrine of implacability.

I don’t believe in curses, but the Brewers have been a festering burr lodged in the Cubs’ hindquarters since 2018. It’s time to rip that sucker through the flesh and move on. Period, end of story.

One last thing, if I may. Carson Kelly lost two challenges by inches in one at-bat last night. Play the Powerball, kid. You’re due.

Cubs/Brewers News & Notes

Ball Four

I was wrong about Nico Hoerner. I couldn’t have been more wrong, in fact.

Central Intelligence

Postseason News & Notes

The Dodgers eliminated the Phillies in extra innings thanks to a strong relief effort from new and intriguing closer Rōki Sasaki.

The outcome was determined on a throwing error by Philadelphia reliever Orion Kerkering, whose last name is destined to become an adjective for misguided decisions.

Kerkering’s teammates let him know that the loss was a total team effort.

The Dodgers will host Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS starting Monday, October 13 if the Cubs win on Saturday. They’ll travel to Milwaukee to play the Brewers if Chicago loses. The NLCS will also be televised on TBS and HBO MAX, so don’t cancel those subscriptions just yet.

George Kirby is starting for the Mariners in tonight’s elimination tilt with the Tigers. Detroit is countering with Tarik Skubal.

Friday Stove

Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger will reportedly opt out of his contract and enter free agency.

Believe it or not, the Cubs are listed as a potential landing spot, as are the Dodgers, though the Yankees remain the favorites to sign Bellinger to a new contract. The Gold Glove outfielder will undoubtedly have to wait until Tucker signs somewhere before he fields any legitimate offers.

The Cubs are also listed among the teams that could sign Kyle Schwarber, though the Padres and Phillies sit atop that group.

The Phillies might turn to Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami if they have to replace Schwarber. The Giants, Yankees, and Dodgers are also considered to be major players for Murakami’s services.

Speaking of sluggers, expect the Red Sox to heavily pursue Mets first baseman/DH Pete Alonso.

Skip Schumaker believes he is ready to guide the Rangers after serving as Bruce Bochy‘s understudy.

Extra Innings

No baseball player has been misjudged more by hometown fans than Happ.

Apropos of Nothing

Milwaukee is 3-10 all-time in potential clinching games in the postseason, which is the worst record of any franchise.

Son of Apropos

I can’t wait until the Brewers are eliminated so I no longer have to watch the fake passed ball theatrics by William Contreras. I really want to not despise the Contreras brothers, but it seems almost impossible at this point.

They Said It

  • “The crowd was incredible tonight. I’ve never seen a baseball game like that. That was just amazing what they did tonight.” – Counsell
  • “We’re all in, to win it all. In order to have Freddy [Peralta] for sure for two times in the next series, it was imperative, best available pitcher, let’s go.” – Murphy
  • “We weren’t going to win the series yesterday. We weren’t going to win the series today. But just to give ourselves a fighting chance is all we were really trying to do. You kind of saw some of the better baseball we’ve played in this postseason.” – Crow-Armstrong
  • “There’s nothing like [Wrigley Field]. It’s really special. They create such an environment here. It makes it a great place to play when you’re a Cubbie and it’s a hard place to play when you’re not.” – Boyd
  • “This fanbase is phenomenal. Everyone’s coming out and supporting us every single day… I mean, it’s so loud in here, and they love coming to these games and supporting us. This is awesome. I mean, I can barely hear myself talk or think right now. I mean, these fans deserve the world. They’ve been supporting us all year long, every single year, every single day; they come out and support us. So we’re just trying to do the best for them.” – Tucker
  • “The best fans in the world. To show up like they did this series was huge for us.” – Busch

Friday Walk-Up Song

Cubs fans should not let the fear of losing prevent them from enjoying what has become a spectacular season that seems destined to continue.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterOctober 10, 2025
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