CHICAGO -- It was the Chicago Cubs' turn in Wednesday's Game 3 to chase the opposing team's starting pitcher.
Quinn Priester, who won 13 games during the regular season for the Milwaukee Brewers, only managed to record two outs in the first inning with a chance to clinch a spot in the National League Championship Series. The Cubs struck for four runs in the inning and made them stand up in a 4-3 win to stave off elimination.
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"I think the moment got to him a little bit," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said about Priester.
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Priester threw 39 pitches before giving way to Nick Mears. Priester allowed four earned run on three hits and two walks. It was Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong who chased Priester with a two-run single to right field.
"If we could take the starter out of the game every first inning, I think we'd have a 150-win season," Crow-Armstrong said. "That's just hugely important getting into the bullpen in these kind of series."
The Brewers did the same thing to the Cubs in Game 1, when they chased Chicago starter Matthew Boyd after two-thirds of an inning. They went on to win that game 9-3.
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Murphy's quick hook led to him using a total of six pitchers in the game. Jose Quintana, who worked as a starting pitcher for the Brewers this season, relieved Mears and went three innings. The Cubs worked three hits off him, but he didn't allow a run.
"A huge part of the game, and he gave us a chance," Murphy said about Quintana. "That experience and that poise, he threw the ball great and gave us a chance to win the game.
"Three innings in that moment right there was huge. Kept us from going deeper into our pen and all that."
The Brewers relievers -- Mears, Quintana, Grant Anderson, Jared Koenig and Chad Patrick -- didn't allow a run.
"Having to take your starter out in the first inning, that's potentially something really uncomfortable, but their guys did a good job and they obviously put up eight scoreless innings after that," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "I think they're in fine shape (Thursday)."
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Game 3 was the second consecutive game Murphy has liberally deployed his pitching staff. He used seven pitchers in Monday's 7-3 win in Game 2, although he went with reliever Aaron Ashby as an opener. He then went with six pitchers in the Game 3 loss. That means his bullpen has covered 15 2/3 innings over the last two games, although a pair of starters pitched in relief in both games -- Jacob Misiorowski for three innings in Game 2 and Quintana for another three in Game 3. It has helped that there has been an off day between each of the first three games in the series.
Neither Murphy nor Counsell announced a starter after Wednesday's game.
"Haven't decided yet," Murphy said, while Counsell said, "I've got one more conversation to have, and then we'll do that."
The Cubs don't anticipate the Brewers will be in trouble with their bullpen for Thursday's Game 4, although they'd love to make the heavy workload make a difference at some point.
"Our goal is to play in a Game 5 here," Crow-Armstrong said. "I think anytime you get to make the bullpen work a little bit harder, it's really good as you move forward."
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