The Brewers cruised against the Cubs , 9-3, in Game 1 of the NLDS Saturday ( box score ). Cubs leadoff man Michael Busch started the series with a home run, but it was 9-1 Brewers before the end of the second inning and the rest of the game became a mere formality.

The Cubs went with left-handed All-Star Matthew Boyd on the mound for this one. In a vacuum, it might sound like the reasonable move. In context, though, it was a head-scratcher even before the implosion.

First off, Boyd was starting on short rest. He worked Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Padres on Tuesday. He had previously started three games on short rest in his career and those came one time each in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Further, Boyd ran out of gas in the second half. Remember, he was returning from

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