If you’re a postseason regular, you know how this postseason has started with head-scratching pitching decisions from managers. First, Aaron Boone caught heat for pulling Max Fried too early in Game 1 against the Red Sox, and now it’s Craig Counsell under fire with the Cubs. He rolled the dice by letting Shota Imanaga close things out, and it backfired in the same way it did for the Yankees.

And what stings for the Cubs is that the situation was set up perfectly in their favor. They had already taken Game 1 with clutch back-to-back homers from Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly, putting them just one win away from advancing to the NLDS against division rival Milwaukee. Instead, they let the Padres force a winner-take-all Game 3. Now, with all the criticism swirling, Counsell has spoken up about his decision to use Imanaga as the closer.

“The result suggested we should have done something different. Really just (had) confidence in Shota.” Counsell accepted the reality check he received from the second game.

Counsell did have a lot of trust in Imanaga.

He set things up by starting with Andrew Kittredge, keeping Imanaga away from the Padres’ top order early on. But the real turning point came in the fifth inning. With a runner on and Manny Machado at the plate, Counsell decided to stick with Imanaga. And that gamble backfired badly.

From a matchup standpoint, it just didn’t add up. The Cubs had Michael Soroka ready in the bullpen, which would’ve given them the better righty-on-righty look against Machado. Instead, Imanaga, who’s been vulnerable to the long ball all season, stayed in, and sure enough, Machado delivered a crushing homer.

But again, Counsell might have planned to get a left-handed option against Machado, considering he hit 12 HRs against the lefties this year compared to 15 HRs against the righties.

But it wasn’t just the pitching decisions that sank the Cubs in Game 2 against the Padres.

The Cubs’ offense is another concern for Counsell

Their offense also came up empty. The pitching staff only allowed three runs, which was still manageable. But the bats couldn’t push across a single run in response. So, we can’t pin this loss entirely on the mound.

And here, the Padres’ bullpen deserves credit.

Mason Miller and Robert Suarez, both pumping 100-plus, completely shut the Cubs down. The Cubs had a few chances late, though. For instance, in the eighth, Michael Busch got on after being hit by a pitch, and Nico Hoerner followed with a liner toward the right-field corner that didn’t quite fall.

Then in the ninth, Kyle Tucker finally picked up his first hit of the series with a one-out single off Suarez, but Seiya Suzuki immediately grounded into a double play to end it.

Padres pitching was sharper than the Cubs’ in this one, plus Chicago’s offense couldn’t deliver in the big moments. Now it all comes down to Game 3, a do-or-die matchup where the spotlight will once again be on Cubs pitching, their ability to hit in the clutch, and, of course, Counsell’s decisions. What are your speculations?