Looking for Silver Linings

After a 9 to 3 drubbing in game 1 of the NLDS, I’m looking for anything positive the Cubs can take from the game. The first inning felt like a nightmare fever dream, and the second was when we thought we’d momentarily woken up only to have the nightmare continue.

But, it’s only one game, and is it better to lose 9-3 or 1-0? Both are losses, and in the playoffs, they count equally. Am I rationalizing? Of course, but there is some truth to the sentiment.

So here’s the good news:

• All of the Cubs high leverage relievers got the day off, giving them 3 full days of rest between games. Civale and Brown went over 6 innings of scoreless baseball which allowed everyone else to rest.
• Matthew Boyd had another vey short outing, and could be used on normal rest in a potential Game 4. Whether the Cubs want to start him again after this outing might be in question.
• The Cubs showed they could hit home runs. Unfortunately, they were all solo shots.
• The Brewers may have lost Jackson Chourio for the series with a reinjury of huis hamstring. Seeing as he was a great catalyst for their offense today, this could be a very big loss. I hate to use a player injury under the heading of “good news”, but he is a dangerous hitter.

But there is lots of bad news:

• The Cubs are down a game, and will have to face Peralta again in this series. That makes games 2 and 3 extremely important.
• Matthew Boyd gave up a ton of runs, and without Cade Horton, the options to have someone else start in his place are limited.
• The Brewers did not have to use their high-leverage relievers.
• Confidence in the offense must be at an all-time high for the Brewers.

I’m trying to tell myself that it’s just one game, and there’s plenty of reason for optimism. But I’m guessing there will be a lot of negativity in the Cubs Universe over the next two days.