CHICAGO -- There’s been a pattern through the first four games of this National League Division Series: If the Brewers don’t strike fast, they might not strike at all.

On Thursday night, it was the latter. The Cubs shut down one of the best offenses in the National League to force a winner-take-all Game 5 . The Brewers would end up losing, 6-0 , at Wrigley Field.

The quick offense model worked early in this series, as the Brewers rattled off a franchise-record six first-inning runs in Game 1 and then three more in the second to win, 9-3. In Game 2, Andrew Vaughn launched a game-tying three-run home run in the first inning , and the Brewers’ offense had done all its damage by the fourth. Even in Game 3, the Crew took a 1-0 lead in the first before petering out in a 4-3 loss .

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