Watching the last two games on my couch, listening to that crowd, through the ups and downs, has been nothing short of incredible. Extremely envious of every fan who showed up on Wednesday and Thursday at Wrigley Field and as corny as it might sound, the fans really did make a difference. Sure, the players on the home team will always acknowledge the affect of fans, but you know it's a real factor when the opposing manager admits that their team could not handle the atmosphere.
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy praised the Cubs for fighting back in the series, tying the NLDS with a 6-0 shutout on Thursday night. After the Cubs did just enough to force a Game 4, Matthew Boyd and four relievers shut down Milwaukee, while the offense crushed three home runs off the Brewers. That included Ian Happ's first-inning, three-run blast against Freddy Peralta, who has dominated the Cubs left fielder throughout his career.
Fans were on their feet from the start, making as much noise as humanly possible throughout the game, but maybe the coolest moment came earlier in the first inning as Wrigley Field began to chant, "Freddy, Freddy," in unison when Kyle Tucker was at the plate.
Tucker reached after taking four straight pitches out of the strike zone as Cubs fans, seemingly got into Peralta's head.
After the game Murphy admitted that his team was affected by the fans at Wrigley Field in Game 3 and 4, respecitvely.
Via ESPN's Jesse Rogers.
And Pat Murphy: "I mean, it affected the game. This crowd affected the game the last two games. It affected the way we played for sure."
The Cubs were embarrassed in the first two games of the NLDS as their pitching was outclassed in Milwaukee. Yet, once the series moved to Wrigley Field the Cubs limited the Brewers to three runs in two games. Jameson Taillon delivered a strong performance on Wednesday night and Boyd pitched to his All-Star level capacity last night.
There is no doubt that Cubs fans made their presence known.
Game 5 is on Saturday as first pitch is scheduled for 7:08 pm.
