Jackson Chourio didn’t need long to make his point after a rare day off.
Back in the lineup Thursday at Citi Field, the 22-year-old Brewers outfielder launched into the Mets immediately and never let up, finishing with two home runs, four hits, four runs and four RBIs in Milwaukee’s 8-2 win. It was the kind of night that made his rest day look less like a pause and more like a reset button.
Chourio had been out of the lineup Wednesday, his first off-day since the All-Star break and his first since May 31. The breather came after a rough Tuesday in the series opener, when he went 0-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts. Chourio described his recent stretch as “heavy,” and the break gave him a chance to clear it out.
He came back swinging from the jump.
Chourio opened the game with a first-pitch single that helped start a two-run first inning, then turned around and hammered a first-pitch, two-run homer in the second. He wasn’t done there. In the fifth, he singled again, stole second and came around to score, then closed the night with another two-run blast in the eighth for his fifth career multihomer game.
"Just, damage,” Mets starter Sean Manaea said. “He's a very talented player.
He's fast, can put the ball in play. Just overall a really good hitter."
Brewers manager Pat Murphy, smiling after the game, said the break did exactly what it was supposed to do.
“He needed that day off,” Murphy said with a smile.
Murphy added that Chourio’s game is even more dangerous when he’s fresh and under control.
“I think it helps,” Murphy said. “He's just a good hitter, man.
He's ready to hit every pitch. That's what we like about him.
He also understands when, 'I'm overamped, and maybe that's when I overdo it and not get the pitch I want.' He was great tonight.
He controlled the game.”
Chourio said he was already locked in on attack mode before his first at-bat even arrived.
“Honestly, even from the dugout, I’m thinking about going up and swinging at the first pitch,” Chourio said. “I like leading off, because I know I have a chance to hit the first pitch.”
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