CHICAGO — The Cubs have a lot to sort through to come up with a complete pitching plan for a winner-take-all Game 5 Saturday in Milwaukee.

But one plan is certain: They’re preparing as if they will be on the road for a few more days beyond Saturday.

“We’re going to L.A. after Milwaukee, so you have to be prepared to do it,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said over Zoom Friday evening. “That’s the plan, absolutely.”

The NLCS begins Monday night — though the location of Game 1 has yet to be determined.

If the Brewers win Saturday, they will host the Dodgers. If the Cubs win, they will head to L.A., since the Dodgers are the No. 3 seed in the NL playoff bracket.

The big question for the Cubs is simple: How do they get to Monday?

“It’s survive and advance, that’s it,” Counsell said.

The Cubs manager did not announce a Game 5 starting pitcher in his media session Friday evening.

Though, he did confirm one player will not be a factor: Cade Horton.

The 24-year-old is the favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year Award and emerged as the Cubs’ ace down the stretch. However, he has been sidelined for the last two weeks with a fractured rib.

Horton is eligible to come off the IL, and the Cubs could technically add him to the roster before Saturday’s game as an injury replacement for another player.

But when Counsell was asked about it, he shut down any notion of Horton being activated before Saturday’s game.

“No,” he said, flatly.

Saturday is also a rest day from Horton as he works through his recovery. He threw a bullpen Friday where the Cubs simulated two innings — Horton threw an inning, sat and then threw another inning.

“Everything went really well,” Counsell said. “It was a really positive day. Obviously how he feels post [bullpen] and how he feels tomorrow are really important, but the actual throwing session went very well.”

So who will the Cubs start Saturday?

Shota Imanaga is an option, though maybe not a great one. The 32-year-old lefty was the Cubs’ Opening Day starter and has been one of the team’s best pitchers over the last two seasons. But he faded down the stretch as he struggled with the home run ball.

In the postseason, Imanaga carries an 8.10 ERA with three homers allowed in 6.2 innings. He surrendered four runs on two homers in Game 2 of the series.

Saturday would be Imanaga’s turn in the rotation and he would be working on regular rest after last Monday’s outing. But the concern for the longball remains — and could be a deciding factor for the Cubs.

There are several other paths the Cubs could go down to begin the game. Veteran right-hander Colin Rea presents one option, as does fellow righties Michael Soroka and Ben Brown.

Rea threw 3.1 shutout innings Monday in relief after Imanaga started the game. The 35-year-old righty also ended the season on a high note, with only one run allowed and 18 strikeouts over his final 12.2 innings.

Soroka was the Cubs’ top trade deadline addition, though he missed over a month with a shoulder injury. He also pitched in Milwaukee, allowing three runs in one inning of work during Game 1 last Saturday.

Brown appeared in Game 1 as well, tossing two shutout innings. The 26-year-old can rack up the whiffs, but he was somewhat of a surprise addition to the NLDS roster. He struggled throughout 2025 to the tune of a 5.92 ERA and 1.44 WHIP.

Regardless of who starts, the Cubs will be in an all-hands-on-deck situation.

“This is a game where we’re going to have everybody available,” Counsell said. “With the exception of Matt Boyd, everyone’s going to be available.”

Boyd threw 67 pitches in 4.2 shutout innings Thursday night to help the Cubs advance to this all-important Game 5.

“It’s cliche here, but we’ve got 11 pitchers to figure out how to get 27 outs,” Counsell said. “And that’s how we’re treating it. We’re certainly going to need the bullpen formula that we’ve used.

“We’re going to get half the outs from not those five guys, right? That’s how we’re looking at it, and that’s what we’re going to have to get.”

The “five guys” Counsell is referencing includes Drew Pomeranz, Daniel Palencia, Andrew Kittredge, Caleb Thielbar and Brad Keller.

That quintet combined to throw 10.1 innings of one-run ball in Games 3 and 4 to help the Cubs claw back into this series.

[How Drew Pomeranz went from unknown to key October bullpen piece]

Counsell has pushed that group in the postseason, as they also had to get a lot of outs in the NL Wild Card Series.

At best, those five pitchers might be able to get 15-18 outs in Game 5. That still leaves at least three innings to cover.

The Cubs will need some combination of Imanaga, Rea, Brown, Soroka and Aaron Civale to help get those 9-12 other outs (assuming the game doesn’t go to extra innings).

An intriguing possibility here is Jameson Taillon, the veteran starter who threw 75 pitches Wednesday night in Game 3. If only Boyd is down, would that mean Taillon could pitch an inning or two in a do-or-die game?

The playoffs bring about some wild usage with team’s pitching staffs.

It will be fascinating to see how Counsell and Co. piece things together Saturday — and if will be enough to get the Cubs into the NLCS for the first time since 2017.