Cubs fans who were at Wrigley Field for Game 4 experienced something truly special

I've gone to a lot of games at Wrigley Field. But I've never experienced anything that comes close to the environment of Game 4 on Thursday. From the first pitch to the last, 41,770 Chicago Cubs fans were on their feet, living and dying with every pitch, every play and every moment.

It started in the first when, after a Nico Hoerner single through the left side, the Wrigley faithful started chanting 'FREDDY, FREDDY' at Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, who immediately proceeded to lose the strike zone and walk Kyle Tucker on four straight pitches. He retired Seiya Suzuki after a seven-pitch battle, bringing longtime Cub Ian Happ to the plate with two on and two outs.

Mired in a deep postseason slump, Happ unloaded for a three-run shot deep into the right field seats, and I can tell you right now, I've never heard the Federal Landmark louder. The ballpark was shaking, right down to its foundation, as everyone lost their minds as he circled the bases and put the Cubs up early, 3-0.

“The crowd was incredible tonight,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after the game. “I've never seen a baseball game like that. That was just amazing what they did tonight."

Milwaukee and Chicago traded zeros from there, as Peralta settled in and Matthew Boyd delivered a gutsy bounce-back performance on the heels of his Game 1 disaster, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings before departing to a standing ovation from the appreciative crowd.

Cubs fans, Wrigley Field took center stage in an incredible Game 4 win

And if you think that, over the course of a three-hour, three-minute ballgame, the crowd might fade in and out a bit, think again. Late-inning home runs from Kyle Tucker and Michael Busch had Wrigley rocking late into the night - even setting off noise level alerts on smartwatches in the Cubs' radio booth.

“I mean, it affected the game. This crowd affected the game the last two games," said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. "It affected the way we played, for sure. … That kind of stuff emotionally can affect guys. They can start to play a little too hard. This game is a game of precision, and the Cubs' experience and what they've been through, they were better in this environment, for sure."

The crowd in Game 3 was good, but Game 4, faced with the prospect of extending the series to a winner-take-all finale this weekend, Chicago Cubs fans once again showed why home-field advantage can very much make a difference, especially in October. Now, Counsell and the Cubs have the chance to do what seemed unthinkable earlier this week: knock out their hated rivals and punch their ticket to the NLCS - and bring more postseason baseball back to Wrigley Field.