Catcher Carson Kelly had solid advice for pitchers after the Chicago Cubs forced a decisive fifth game of their National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
“Everyone have a good night's sleep,” Kelly said Thursday after Won 6-0 in game four. at Wrigley Field. “Because we will all need you.”
The fifth and final game of the Cubs-Brewers division series is Saturday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee (7:08 p.m., TBS).
As of Friday evening, the Cubs had not yet decided on a starting pitcher.
“This is a game where everyone will be available, with the possible exception of Matt Boyd, everyone will be available,” manager Craig Counsell said during a video conference on Friday. “It's a cliché here, but we have 11 pitchers to figure out how to get 27 strikeouts. That's how we look at it.
“We're certainly going to need the bullpen formula that we've been using (featuring a mix of Drew Pomeranz, Daniel Palencia, Andrew Kittredge, Caleb Thielbar and Brad Keller). We're going to have to get half the outs from the wrong five guys, right? And that's how we're looking at it, and that's what we're going to have to get.”
Counsel ruled out the possibility of Cade Horton finding his way back Saturday, but noted the right-hander is recovering from an injury. right rib fracture — had a positive day while attending a bullpen meeting.
“He threw the bullpen up and down — he threw a pitch, sat down and then came out and threw another pitch,” Counsell said. “It went really well. How he feels afterwards and how he feels tomorrow is really important, but the throwing session itself went really well.”
As of Friday evening, the Brewers were also discussing their pitching plans.
“I just met with the pitching coaches for an hour, went through a lot of different scenarios,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said on a video conference Friday. “After this, we will meet again, do a little informal warm-up. After that, we will sit down and discuss everything, and tomorrow morning we will probably get a final answer.”
Murphy said the schedule with days off after Games 1, 2 and 4 was helpful in terms of having pitchers available for Game 5.
“These are young players, most of them without a lot of experience,” Murphy said. “They're tired, but at least now they're resting and realizing, 'Hey, somebody who can throw with the right attitude, you're there.' »
Counsell believes the Brewers will employ a strategy similar to what the Cubs have in mind.
“I think they look at it the same way we do,” he said. “They might have a couple guys because they had a couple guys that pitched a little bit more, but we know we’ll see. (Jacob) Misiorowskiwe know we'll see (Abner) Uribe, (Jared) Koenig, (Trevor) Megill.
“You kind of plan to face these guys, those are their best guys. And everyone else is available, I'm sure. In a scenario like this, it's a ton of stuff. And our job is to make it difficult for these guys and influence the plan and put them in bad situations.”
Murphy said the Brewers have ifs and buts when it comes to the Cubs' pitching plans.
“We probably know it’s this guy or that guy, but at the same time, we’re prepared for anything,” Murphy said. “This is how you should be at this time of year.”
After losing the first two games of the series in Milwaukee, the Cubs responded with two wins at home to set up a Game 5.
“We've been resilient all season long and that's what we've been really consistent about and what we continue to do and that's a huge part of who we are.” Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw said on Thursday.
Now comes the win or go home scenario.
“Obviously they've been a great team all year, just like we have been,” Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said Thursday. “It will be an all-out competition. It will use everything they have, everything we have.
“We just need to continue to play good ball, we need to continue to pitch, play defense and hit our shots on time. And I think we're well prepared to go out there and play good ball, and we just need to do that.”
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