CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs have quickly become battle tested in elimination games.

For the third time this postseason, the Cubs staved off their season ending. Thanks to another first-inning home run — a rocket off Ian Happ’s bat that landed in the right-field bleachers for a three-run lead — and a masterful performance by left-hander Matthew Boyd, the Cubs’ 6-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night at Wrigley Field sets up a win-or-go-home Game 5 in the National League Division Series.

The deciding game of the series is at 7:08 p.m. Saturday at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Game 4 marked another chapter in the resiliency the Cubs have shown this season, particularly in the playoffs after battling back from a 2-0 deficit in the NLDS.

Hours before the Cubs’ Game 3 victory Wednesday, Happ remarked how the team’s performance at Wrigley — where they had the sixth-best home record in the regular season and are now 4-1 in the playoffs — has been key to their success.

“I think it gives you a little bit of peace or a little bit of confidence that you get two games at home to get this thing even,” Happ said. “Anything can happen in a Game 5. That’s the exciting thing about playoff baseball.

“You’ve got nothing to lose, and when your backs are against the wall, that’s sometimes when guys play their best.”

Happ’s career track record against Brewers starter Freddy Peralta has largely been one-sided. In 32 regular-season at-bats, Happ collected just two hits off Peralta for a .063 average and 14 strikeouts, his most against any pitcher. One of those hits was a home run, and Happ bested him again in Game 1, taking him deep in the loss.

As 41,770 fans chanted “Fredd-y! Fredd-y!” Happ rocketed Peralta’s 1-1 fastball to the bleachers to set off pandemonium.

The Cubs’ 3-0 lead gave Boyd a cushion he didn’t surrender. The veteran lefty redeemed his rough Game 1 start on short rest that lasted just two outs. He held the Brewers to two hits in 4 2/3 shutout innings, working around three walks and striking out six. Daniel Palencia cleaned up in relief, stranding runners on second and third by forcing Jackson Chourio to pop out on the first pitch to end the fifth.

The Cubs tacked on a run in the sixth on Matt Shaw’s RBI single and another in the seventh with Kyle Tucker’s solo homer. Michael Busch hit his fourth home run of the postseason, and third in the NLDS, with a solo shot in the eighth.

The Cubs’ ability to keep finding a way to put quick pressure on the Brewers has been a constant in the NLDS. The Cubs lineup has been making a first-inning lead look easy. For the fourth straight game, the Cubs used a home run in the opening frame to give them a quick lead.

The Cubs are the first team in MLB history with a home run in the first inning in four straight games during the same postseason, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Busch, twice, have provided the slug that has given their starters at least a little breathing room.

Nico Hoerner’s seven-game hitting streak to begin his postseason career is the longest by a Cubs hitter since Ryne Sandberg’s 10-game streak between 1984 and ’89.

The winner of Saturday’s Game 5 at American Family Field will advance to the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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