Carson

Kelly

Chicago will attempt to stave off elimination for the second straight contest at Wrigley Field by rolling out the exact same lineup, which features Busch in the leadoff spot to face Brewers ace Freddy Peralta. The 27-year-old slugger blasted a solo homer — his third postseason round-tripper — in the Cubs’ pivotal Game 3 win. Here’s the full lineup: Busch (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Cubs manager Craig Counsell will shake things up with veteran Justin Turner leading off, while Michael Busch starts on the bench. Lefty opener Aaron Ashby will take the ball for Milwaukee to kick off the contest before Quinn Priester enters in a bulk relief role. Here’s the full lineup: Turner (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstring (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Suzuki has been bumped up to the cleanup spot to face Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, with Ian Happ moved down a couple spots, after going 3-for-11 with one homer and a pair of doubles in Chicago’s Wild Card Series victory over San Diego. The 31-year-old corner outfielder finished the season with an impressive power surge and is clearly building some momentum heading into fantasy drafts next spring. Here’s the full lineup: Michael Busch (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Suzuki (RF), Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Kelly broke the seal for the Cubs’ lineup with his solo shot after Braves’ starter Chris Sale struck out eight of the first 12 batters he faced. That gave him four home runs in his last seven games as he closes out what’s been the best offensive season of his career to this point with 17 homers and a .799 OPS.

It’s Kelly’s fourth career two-homer game, three of which have come this season. He entered September having gone 27 straight games without an extra-base hit, but he has three homers in four games this month.

Kelly tied the game at 6-6 with a two-run homer, and then drove homer the game-winner in the 10th with a single to score Seiya Suzuki. Not a bad little Labor Day. Kelly now has 14 homers and has slashed .259/.350/.443 in his best season since 2019.

Amaya, returning from an oblique strain, went 6-for-27 with no extra-base hits in nine games for Triple-A Iowa. Although he was very good before getting hurt, batting .280/.313/.505 in 27 games, he’ll likely see less time than Carson Kelly behind the plate for the Cubs. The team is also keeping Reese McGuire; he’d certainly be claimed on waivers if the team tried to demote him, and the Cubs want to keep him in case Amaya or Kelly goes down.

The 31-year-old backstop smacked a leadoff single off of Trevor Rogers to open the second inning and advanced to third on a double by Pete Crow-Armstrong. He then trotted home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ian Happ. That would be the only run that either team would muster in the ballgame. With his two-hit attack, Kelly is now hitting .272/.367/.498 with 13 homers and 36 RBI in what has been a strong offensive season for the Cubs.

Kelly’s roller-coaster season has seen him hit .361/.500/.820 in his first 20 games and .156/.224/.211 in his subsequent 26. However, he’s bounced back nicely recently, batting .386/.461/.727 with three homers in his last 15 games. It all adds up to an .892 OPS, placing him third among catchers behind Cal Raleigh and Will Smith,

Kelly delivered a two-run double off of Gavin Williams in the second inning that extended the Cubs’ early lead to 3-0 and proved to be the difference in the ballgame. He also tacked on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to cap off the scoring in the ballgame. With his two-hit night, the 30-year-old backstop is slashing a respectable .267/.369/.453 with nine homers and 29 RBI in 203 plate appearances on the season.