NL DIVISION SERIES: CUBS VS BREWERS

October 8, 2025

Pat Murphy

Wrigley Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Cubs 4, Brewers 3

Q. Just a lot of uncompetitive misses from Priester, something we haven't seen a ton of. What did you think went wrong for him in that inning?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I think the moment got to him a little bit. I think this is -- again, he's not technically a rookie, but it's his first postseason appearance. Had a long layoff. It's in his hometown.

Yeah, I feel for him because that's not typically how he's done this year. It gave them a jump start and was the difference in the game.

Q. The first innings these first three games from both sides, how would you describe the way these games have been starting?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I mean, both teams come out firing. That's what it's about. They know us, we know them. There's a lot of emotion in the game.

It says something for both teams, really.

Tonight the Cubs got the best of it. Credit goes to them.

Q. If you could just speak to the missed opportunities your team had in certain instances in the game.

PAT MURPHY: Yeah. You've got to get the big hit sometimes. We didn't get the big hit. The bunt is an easy run right there. He bunted it a little too hard. He's the best bunter we have. Yeah, it happens.

Q. Almost got out of that first with just one inning. How big was Pete's hit there?

PAT MURPHY: Huge. Huge hit at a huge time. Very clutch. That's what had to happen for us. We had to get that big two-out hit and didn't get it.

Oftentimes when you see close games, you look at the runners in scoring position and how successful you were. Yeah, we didn't get the big hit. We did hit some balls hard, but credit to them and what they did in the first inning to do just enough to win.

Q. That Bauers at-bat in the eighth, did it seem like the speed with which Keller got right back in that at-bat maybe flipped it on Bauers? What did you see from that one from Bauers?

PAT MURPHY: The Bauers at-bat in the eighth?

Q. Yes.

PAT MURPHY: 3-0 count -- was it a 3-0 count?

Q. It was 1-0 and then it went to 1-2 and then he threw the fastball.

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, Bauers had an incredible game. Without him we're not in the game. Had the big RBI single and then a big homer, and yeah, I felt good about the at-bat coming in, and I think he did, too.

I think he was maybe a little shocked by the heaters, how many heaters he got in a row. The sequencing was pretty good.

Credit the catcher and credit the pitcher there for a little bit unconventional, heater, heater, heater. But it is what it is. But pitching is really good these days, and Bauers was fantastic tonight.

We had some great pitching performances tonight, too. Quintana gave us three plus, and the job Patrick did, the job Anderson did to give us a chance. I thought those three guys in particular were outstanding, and to shut the Cubs down for eight innings in their home park with -- what an electric environment for them.

Q. Pat, for Michael Busch as a hitter, what challenges does he present to your pitching staff?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, between Busch and Suzuki right now and Hoerner, they've just got a great lineup. 1 through 9 they've got a great lineup. One of the best really. That's how the team was built, and they've done a good job, and they're still alive. Busch in particular, he's come into his own. This guy is -- you've got to make pitches to him.

Q. To go back to that bunt play, once Caleb got in that run-down and Shaw had the ball, do you think he had a chance to beat him to the plate, or were you okay with him kind of going back to stay in the run-down and get the runners out?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I think the first thing is right-handed guy on the mound, right-handed hitter, so the third baseman was close to the base. So you don't get as big a lead. I was confident with Lockridge's bunting ability, which he did all week in the practice week, and he's really good at it.

I'm sure he could get that bunt down.

Busch made a great play. But I wish Caleb would have kept going. I think if he would have just accelerated and believed and dove in there, it would have taken a great throw.

And certainly it's going to be close enough, he's going to be safe at first. Now we've got something going.

Q. When you look at Quintana and the outing he had, you just talked a little bit about that. What did you see from him in terms of keeping the Cubs from building momentum?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, a huge part of the game, and he gave us a chance. That experience and that poise, he threw the ball great and gave us a chance to win the game. Three innings in that moment right there was huge. Kept us from going deeper into our pen and all that.

Couldn't be more pleased, like I said, with the job him and Patrick did those five innings were -- and Anderson, those seven innings changed the game for us.

Q. Who's your Game 4 starter?

PAT MURPHY: Haven't decided yet.