Fresh off a three-game NL Wild Card series win over the San Diego Padres, the Chicago Cubs now have an NL Division Series (NLDS) date with the Milwaukee Brewers. After beating the Brewers 7-6 in their regular season series, the Cubs jumped out to an early 1-o lead over Milwaukee, thanks to first baseman Michael Busch. The 27-year-old slugged a no doubt leadoff home run off Milwaukee ace Freddy Peralta, a moment shared by MLB's official X, formerly Twitter, account.

“MICHAEL BUSCH LEADOFF HOMER,” posted the league's official account. “WELCOME TO THE NLDS!”

Despite that prodigious display of power from Busch, the Cubs are now down 6-1. The Brewers' offense has teed off on Chicago's Game 1 starter, lefty Matthew Boyd. After a solid Wild Card Game 1 performance, Cubbies manager Craig Counsell decided to go with Boyd in Game 1 of the NLDS. That decision might come back to bite the Cubs. Can the visitors' offense take after Busch's lead and wake up in time to capture a win on Saturday?

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Cubs look to start NLDS off strong with Game 1 win over the Brewers

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park.
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

While a 6-1 deficit isn't insurmountable, it can be if the rest of the Cubs' bats don't wake up. Following Busch's leadoff home run (his sixth in 53 games in that spot, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers via X), the numbers two through four hitters promptly went down 1-2-3. In a lineup filled with veteran talent, Chicago's top-five scoring offense needs to get it going against Peralta.

If they cannot, then the Cubs will be down 1-0 to the NL's best regular-season team. Yes, Chicago did win the regular season series over Milwaukee, but the last time the two teams played? Six weeks ago, when the Cubbies took three out of four from the NL's top seed. Can they rebound from Boyd's rough start and follow Busch's lead to notch a now unlikely Game 1 victory? If so, the latest series of this divisional rivalry could end up going the Cubs' way.