With temperatures finally dropping in Chicago, it was a much more October atmosphere at Wrigley Field on Wednesday. Naturally, Game 3 began with a bewitching type of play.
The Brewers put runners on first and second base with one out in the top of the first inning before catcher William Contreras hit a high pop up on the infield. Normally, that type of hit would immediately be called an out under the infield fly rule.
The umpires didn’t make that call this time. Cubs first baseman Michael Busch was standing in the sun and quickly made it clear he couldn’t find the ball. Nico Hoerner made a sprint from second base but couldn’t get there in time, and the ball landed about two-thirds of the way up the first base line, maybe 15 feet in fair territory.
The runners took off once the ball hit the ground. Catcher Carson Kelly picked it up and would have had an easy force at second, except no one was covering the bag, since both Hoerner and shortstop Dansby Swanson chased the pop up.
“I didn’t break for the ball until I saw that Buschy didn’t have it, and by that point, I didn’t get to the ball in time,” Hoerner said. “The ruling makes sense, right? You don’t call it unless the out is assumed, and we didn’t have a fielder in the area yet. I don’t know if I’ve seen that one. It was a funky play.”
Pitcher Jameson Taillon didn’t see the ball either, but for a different reason.
“I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t really watch the play that much,” he said. “I kind of put my head down and got out of the way, because I’m not great at catching those.”
The no infield fly call led to the first run of the game, since Christian Yelich scored on Sal Frelick’s sacrifice fly. Had Contreras been called out, the flyball would have ended the inning. But Cubs manager Craig Counsell had no complaints.
“You have to have a player that’s going to catch it to call infield fly, and we never had a player really close to catching it,” Counsell said. “Right call. I was hoping they made the wrong call; they did not.”
Milwaukee Brewers’ Quinn Priester throws during the first inning of Game 3 of baseball’s National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley) AP
Priester takes blame:
Milwaukee starting pitcher Quinn Priester won games at an unprecedented pace this season, but he took Wednesday’s result hard. He was pulled from the mound after just ⅔ of an inning and was charged with all 4 Cubs runs.
“Very frustrated,” Priester said in the visiting clubhouse. “The command wasn’t good. The stuff wasn’t coming out the way I wanted it to. Ultimately it falls onto me to make an adjustment.
“It’s going to be different every day. You’re going to have different circumstances to have to work with and battle through, and it’s up to the pitcher to make an adjustment to at least give us a chance, get the ball in play. Didn’t do that today, didn’t give us a chance. Everyone else played real well with the exception of myself. So definitely feel like that’s entirely on me.”
The Cary-Grove High School product might have saved the Brewers’ season when he arrived in a trade from Boston on April 7. After some early struggles, Milwaukee finished the regular season by winning 19 of his final 20 starts.
“Over the course of a year, you have good days, you have bad days,” Priester said. “Today was one of those bad days. Got to learn from it for sure. Every time I’ve met failure, I’ve taken it head on.
“I just want to use it as fuel. Realize that one game isn’t going to define myself or our team. Don’t forget about it, use it to get better.”
Pitching plan pending:
The Cubs survived to play Game 4 on Thursday at Wrigley Field. But now what?
Their starting pitching is in rough shape, with Cade Horton out with a broken rib, while Cubs starters were roughed up in both Games 1 and 2 of this series.
There was no pitching announcement by either team immediately after this game. The likely scenario for the Cubs is to return to left-hander Matthew Boyd, who threw just 30 pitches and didn’t make it out of the first inning in Game 1.
As he spoke to reporters Wednesday, Boyd seemed happy to get another chance.
“I know what I’m going to do with the ball in my hand,” Boyd said. “When that time comes (Thursday), I’ll be ready. I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to go compete, and leave it all out there on the field. It takes all of us to go where we want to go.”
Jameson Taillon voiced confidence in another Boyd start.
“After he had that Game 1 outing, I was just thinking to myself, ‘If we could find a way to get him the ball again, he’s too smart, he’s too disciplined and motivated and sharp to not find a way to have success,’” Taillon said. “I’m excited to watch him.”
The Cubs used most of their A-level relievers Wednesday, so there will be tough decisions on whether to run them back out to the mound again Thursday, with a possible Game 5 looming.
“I’m going to always wait to see how they feel when they come in, but I don’t think any of them threw more than 20 pitches,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I anticipate being in pretty good shape.”
If the Cubs do force a Game 5 on Saturday in Milwaukee, would Taillon be willing to come back on two days rest?
“I haven’t thought about it yet,” he said. “I would say I’m definitely going to be available, though. Just depends if they want me or not.”
https://www.dailyherald.com/20251008/chicago-cubs/cubs-have-no-complaint-with-infield-fly-that-wasnt/