Cubs shut down Brewers 6-0, force Game 5 Saturday

Matthew Boyd pitched two-hit ball into the fifth inning, and the Chicago Cubs shut down the Milwaukee Brewers for a 6-0 victory Thursday night 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 rollicking Wrigley Field crowd of 41,770. Busch went deep for the second straight game and third time in the series.

The Cubs were on the brink of elimination after they dropped the first two games of the NLDS in Milwaukee. But they held on for a 4-3 victory Wednesday before making the most of a sharp performance by Boyd and four relievers in Game 4.

Next up is the finale of the best-of-five series back in Milwaukee on Saturday night. The winner takes on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

The Brewers, who went 97-65 this season for the majors’ best record, finished with three hits. They were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base overall in the series’ two games at Wrigley.

The All-Star left-hander Boyd struck out six and walked three in 4 2/3 innings.

Tucker added a leadoff drive in the seventh against Robert Gasser, and Busch connected in the eighth. It was Busch’s fourth homer in this postseason overall.



(AP Photo Nam Y. Huh)