Bloop & A Blah: After Seiya Suzuki’s three-run home run in the top of the first, it felt like the Cubs might be ready to explode offensively.

Instead, after Suzuki’s blast, the Cubs’ offense tallied just two more hits — both singles — and struck out 11 times, bringing their postseason total to 58.

Craig Counsell said after Game 2: “In the first two games, we have just not produced enough pressure on them. First two innings, we did a nice job, and we had two at-bats with runners in scoring position today. That's a pretty good sign that we're not creating enough pressure. We had one hit after the second inning.

“That's going to add up to a lot of zeros, and that's what happened the last seven or eight innings. We've got to find a way to just create more pressure, and that's base runners, hits and walks. We've got to have more pressure and make innings and kind of pitching decisions much tougher on the other side.”

Two-Out Mistakes: All seven of the Brewers’ runs came via the long ball — and all came with two outs in the inning.

The Cubs’ three-run lead did not last long, when former White Sox 1B Andrew Vaughn tied things up with a three-run blast off Imanaga in the bottom of the first.

Milwaukee grabbed the lead on William Contreras’ solo shot in the third. Jackson Chourio blew things open with a three-run homer off Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia in the fourth inning.

Through his interpreter, Imanaga said: “With the team putting up three runs, I ruined the game. There’s a lot of frustration within myself.”

It’s the 11th start in a row that Imanaga has allowed a home run, dating back to August 10th. All six of the runs Imanaga has allowed in two postseason starts have come off three home runs.

Backs Against The Wall: Now the series shifts to Chicago. With the season on the line, Counsell will send Jameson Taillon to the mound on Wednesday night. Brewers manager Pat Murphy will use Quinn Priester, who was initially expected to replace last night’s opener, Aaron Ashby.

Taillon tossed four scoreless innings last Thursday in the win-or-go-home game against the San Diego Padres. In his most recent start against the Brewers (August 19th), Taillon allowed just one run in six innings.

On getting back into the series, Counsell said: “It's simple. We've got to just win pitches. We've got to win moments. You've got to stay with your process and your routines. It's as simple as that. We've got our work cut out for us, but it's done by winning one pitch at a time and succeeding one pitch at a time.