The Milwaukee Brewers not only took a commanding 2-0 lead over the Chicago Cubs in their best-of-five NLDS, but they won those two games by an impressive 16-6 margin. They looked every bit like the team that finished the regular season with the best record in baseball.
It looked like that was going to be the case in Game 3 as well when the Brewers took a first-inning lead, but the final score would eventually say otherwise. The Cubs won 4-3, protecting home field and sending this series to a Game 4. Milwaukee still sits in the driver's seat with one win to get in two tries, but it sure would've been nice to finish off their NL Central rivals early.
They've got a good shot to win the series, but they certainly gave the Cubs extra life by losing this game. These four Brewers deserve a majority of the blame for Wednesday's result.
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4) OF Brandon Lockridge
Harsh? Perhaps. Brandon Lockridge appeared in just 20 games for the Brewers after being acquired at the trade deadline, and he had not had a single plate appearance this postseason before earning a pretty surprising start in Game 3. He only stepped up to the plate twice on Wednesday, but he struck out his first time up (albeit in an unbelievable at-bat) and came up short in his second appearance as well.
Lockridge came up to the plate with runners at the corners and one out in the bottom of the third. All he had to do to score a speedy Caleb Durbin was hit a moderately deep fly ball to the outfield. That would've cut Chicago's lead to 4-3. Instead, Lockridge pushed a bunt right to Michael Busch, who was expecting it, and got Durbin at the plate.
Lockridge wasn't the one who called the safety squeeze, but he simply had to execute. The bunt was not good enough. The Brewers lost this game by one run. His failure to execute hurt.
3) Manager Pat Murphy
I'm not going to blame Pat Murphy for starting Quinn Priester in this game. It didn't work, but it felt like every day Priester pitched was "win day" for the Brewers in the regular season. What I will blame Murphy for is the Lockridge situation.
Murphy was the one who decided to start Lockridge for reasons I don't quite understand, and called for the squeeze play involving the outfielder.
Pat Murphy said he was sure Brandon Lockridge was going to get the bunt down, calling him the team’s best bunter, but also wanted Caleb Durbin to keep going and try to force a play at the plate.
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) October 9, 2025
Lockridge had to execute, but Murphy could've had Lockridge swing the bat, or simply used the better player, Isaac Collins, who pinch-hit for him later in the game. Collins struggled down the stretch, but there's a reason he was in the NL Rookie of the Year race for much of the year. Not giving him a chance in that spot was really hard to get behind, and it backfired.
2) 2B Brice Turang
Brice Turang is as underrated a player as there is in the game on both sides of the ball, and was hitting third for the Brewers on Wednesday for a reason. Unfortunately, he didn't come through like a No. 3 hitter should.
Turang went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, one of which came in a massive spot. Jackson Chourio led off the top of the eighth inning with a double, placing the tying run at second base with nobody out and Turang up next. Turang didn't drive in the tying run, and what's even worse is that he failed to even move the runner over.
Turang entered the day just 2-for-9 with four strikeouts in the series, and those numbers only look worse now. Turang is one of the best players on the team, but he hasn't performed like it so far, and that was especially the case in Game 3.
1) SP Quinn Priester
You knew he'd be here. The Brewers took an early lead with a run in the top of the first, giving Priester a chance to help send them to the NLCS. Milwaukee had gone 19-1 in Priester's final 20 regular-season appearances, and Priester had a 2.96 ERA in those outings. Unfortunately, he looked nothing like that guy in his postseason debut.
Priester wasted no time giving up the lead, serving up a leadoff home run to Michael Busch. The damage would not stop there: He allowed three of the next four batters he'd face to reach, two of which came via walks, but then struck out Carson Kelly, giving him a path out of the inning. Pete Crow-Armstrong had other plans, though, drilling a two-run single to right field and giving the Cubs a 3-1 lead.
Priester's day ended right there. Adding insult to injury, a Nick Mears wild pitch plated a fourth run, also charged to Priester. He ended the day having recorded just two outs and given up three runs on four hits with two walks. The bullpen didn't allow a single run to score in relief, but the damage Priester had caused wound up being too great to overcome.