Cubs use 4-run 1st inning to stay alive vs. Brewers in NLDS - ESPN

CHICAGO — If the Chicago Cubs could just start the game over every inning, they might get to the World Series.

For the third consecutive game in their National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs scored in the first, only this time it was enough to squeak out a 4-3 win and stave off elimination. All four of their runs came in the opening inning.

«I'm going to tell our guys it's the first inning every inning tomorrow,» manager Craig Counsell said with a smile after the game. «I think that's our best formula right now, offensively.»

The Cubs scored three runs in the first inning in Game 2 but lost 7-3. They also scored first in Game 1, thanks to a Michael Busch homer, but lost 9-3. The first baseman also homered to lead off the bottom of the first in Game 3 on Wednesday after the Cubs got down 1-0. He became the first player in MLB history to hit a leadoff home run in two postseason games in the same series.

«From the moment I was placed in that spot, I thought, 'Why change what I do? Just have a good at-bat, stay aggressive, trust my eyes,'» Busch said.

Counsell added: «You can just tell by the way they manage the game, he's become the guy in the lineup that everybody is thinking about and they're pitching around him, and that's a credit to the player. It really is.»

Including the regular season, Busch has seven leadoff home runs this year in just 54 games while batting first.

The Cubs weren't done in Wednesday's opening inning, as center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong came through with the bases loaded for a second time this postseason. In the wild-card round against the San Diego Padres last week, he singled home a run with a base hit. He did one better Wednesday, driving two in on a two-out