Jackson Chourio kept finding the biggest stage and making it look like home.
With the Brewers one out away from seizing a 2-0 series lead, Milwaukee’s ninth inning turned tense in a hurry. Miller was sharp in the eighth, retiring the Brewers’ 2-4 hitters in order.
Then the strike zone started slipping away from him in the ninth, and three hitters reached on walks. That set the table for Chourio, the 22-year-old who has been building a postseason résumé at a ridiculous pace.
He did not waste the chance. Chourio jumped in with a swing-for-the-fences approach, fell behind 1-2, then battled back to a 2-2 count before ripping a 101.3 mph fastball to right. The hit brought in Yelich and Frelick, delivered the Brewers a 2-0 series edge, and left the Padres on the brink of elimination.
It was the latest playoff jolt from a player who already looks far beyond his years. Chourio had his first major moment of this NLDS on Saturday night, when he launched a two-run homer to tie Game 1. Sunday’s finish landed on a different level entirely.
A two-out, two-run, walkoff single in the postseason is the kind of swing kids imagine in the backyard. Doing it off Miller, who has been arguably MLB’s best closer for the last two years, makes it even bigger.
“As a hitter, when he stays under control, it’s amazing. He’s, I think, turning into a bona fide, top-flight player,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Chourio. “Couldn’t be happier for him because he brings it every day.”
“When he comes up in that situation, just with everything that’s going on in that inning, you just feel good about it,” said Yelich of the budding star, “even though you know what’s going on, you know who he’s facing, but you still feel good about it.”
Chourio’s Game 2 heroics pushed his career postseason line to .327 with a 1.030 OPS, along with three doubles, five homers, and 15 RBIs in 14 games. It was another signature moment in a pro career that already has plenty of them.
In Other News...
Brewers Padres Series Just Got A Petty New Edge
The Brewers have found a little October edge of their own at home, turning to elevator music during opponents batting practice as part of the postseason chess match that tends to show up once the calendar flips. It is the kind of harmless but pointed gamesmanship that feels right for this time of year, when every club is looking for some small way to unsettle the other side before the games start counting in earnest.
San Diego answered in kind at Petco Park, piping elevator music over the speakers while Milwaukee was on the field for an off-day workout. It was a playful jab rather than anything heavy-handed, but it adds a petty little wrinkle to the series and underscores how thin the margins can get when two teams are looking for any edge, even one that sounds more like a department store than a ballpark. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Just Got A Game 3 Opening Padres Fans Hate
The Padres will have to reshuffle their lineup for Game 3 of the NLDS against Milwaukee after Gavin Sheets was scratched from the starting nine with a stiff neck. He is still available off the bench, but Samad Taylor will take his place in the batting order as San Diego tries to stay alive in a must-win matchup on the road.
Nick Pivetta is set to start on the mound for the Padres, giving San Diego a familiar arm as it tries to extend its season. It will be his second postseason start since returning from injury, and the Padres are banking on him to help steady a lineup that has already lost one key bat before the first pitch. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Had A Strange Game 1 Warning That Suddenly Looks Huge
Rainy conditions forced the Brewers to close the roof at American Family Field for Game 1 against the Padres, and what looked like a routine weather decision turned into one of the defining moments of the night. A ball hit the roof and stayed in play long enough for Jackson Chourio to make the catch, turning the strange carom into an out that helped Milwaukee hang on for a 3-2 win.
Chourio then showed up again in Game 2, this time delivering the walk-off single that sent the Brewers home with another victory and a 2-0 lead in the NLDS. In a series where the smallest details have already mattered, the roof call from the opener suddenly looks like more than a footnote for Milwaukee. [Read more 🡒]