MILWAUKEE — The pregame preparation is methodical.

Nearly every day, even during the hot days of summer amid the grind of a long season, Chicago Cubs infielders can be found doing the same drills on the grass in front of the dugout with major-league coach Jonathan Mota. The sequence of fielding work was brought from Atlanta by shortstop Dansby Swanson and incorporated by other Cubs infielders, who over the last three seasons have put their own twist on the five-minute drills.

Defense has been an organizational focal point for the Cubs, and they will need that area to be sound for them to bounce back from Saturday’s Game 1 loss and take the best-of-five National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“One thing that can be a challenge throughout the 162 (games) is mentally expecting the ball to be hit to you every single pitch,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “It sounds kind of silly, but there’s a level of focus and readiness beyond the skills themselves that puts you in a great place to make plays.

“And in some ways the postseason continues to bring that out of you naturally, where the heightened focus and intensity puts you in a really great place to just go compete and make plays.”

The Brewers lineup is the kind that can challenge a defense and pounce on mistakes — as it did in Game 1. Hoerner’s error in the first inning of the 9-3 loss led to four unearned runs off Matthew Boyd, a rare defensive miscue from the Gold Glove winner. It was the type of play the Cubs can’t afford if they don’t want the NLDS to be a short series, especially with the Brewers’ offensive profile.

Game 2 photos: Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers in NL Division Series

During the regular season, the Brewers ranked in the bottom third of the majors in home runs, 29th in hard-hit percentage and 28th in average exit velocity. But they were tied for third in zone contact percentage and ranked fourth in chase contact percentage. Their methodical approach, featuring the third-lowest swing percentage, can put pressure on a defense with such a high frequency of balls in play.

The Cubs have prioritized building an elite defense, starting up the middle. Swanson’s track record made him an ideal fit at shortstop to pair with Hoerner and, eventually, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Swanson knew the Cubs were looking to make defense part of their identity when he signed with them before the 2023 season. He noted how defense often gets overlooked when trying to put together a winning team.

“It’s not always, like, the coolest or sexiest thing,” Swanson said. “But when you convert outs into outs and convert plays that aren’t typically outs into outs, it really can limit another team’s chances of scoring.

“Runs are at a premium in the postseason, and it really increases your chances of winning when you play good defense.”

Elite defense is a common theme among the teams that made the postseason this year. The top five teams in Statcast’s Fielding Run Value all made the playoffs: the Toronto Blue Jays (+45), Cubs (+40), Brewers (+31), Cleveland Guardians (+28) and Boston Red Sox (+21). A few outliers — the Seattle Mariners (-30, 26th in MLB), Philadelphia Phillies (-13, 21st) and Cincinnati Reds (-8, 20th) — managed to outhit or outpitch their defensive struggles to reach October.

The Cubs see their defense as a backbone of their success. They will need it to deliver in the remaining NLDS games like it did in the wild-card series against the San Diego Padres.

“Throughout our group, whether it’s us two up the middle or throughout the defense, there’s a really high standard,” Hoerner said. “There’s not one way to go about it, but when you’re around other people that are doing things at a high level, it brings out the best in yourself. As we’ve found more consistency within our lineup as well, you get a feel for everybody that’s around you and how the spacing works and you get in a rhythm as a group, and that makes all of us better.

“A lot of these playoff games throughout baseball have been so low-scoring. Every run is at a premium, so you’re able to take a couple away in one game, it’s a huge deal.”

Originally Published: October 6, 2025 at 5:11 PM CDT