Jackson Chourio keeps finding ways to tilt October in Milwaukee’s favor.
One night after launching a homer in the Brewers’ Game 1 win, the 22-year-old came through again on Sunday, delivering the walk-off single that pushed Milwaukee past San Diego 4-3 in Game 2 of the National League Division Series. The Brewers are now one win away from advancing to the National League Championship Series.
The finish came after the Padres entered the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead and Major League Baseball’s No. 1 closer, Mason Miller, on the mound. Milwaukee’s rally started when Garrett Mitchell grounded out, but Miller then lost the strike zone and walked Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick and Andrew Vaughn to load the bases. Chourio followed by lining a single to center field, bringing home Yelich and Frelick and ending the game.
The Padres were a strike away from evening the series at one game apiece before Tuesday’s Game 3 in San Diego. Instead, Milwaukee grabbed a 2-0 series lead and put San Diego on the brink.
Logan Henderson did his part to keep the Brewers in position. Making his first playoff start, he worked five innings and allowed one earned run and two runs overall against a Padres team that entered the series as the hottest club in baseball.
Milwaukee’s bullpen backed him up again, allowing one unearned run over four innings. That marked the second straight night the Brewers got strong work from their relievers.
The only quiet spot on the Milwaukee side was Brice Turang, who still hasn’t broken through at the plate in the series. He went 0-for-3 in Saturday’s opener and finished 0-for-4 on Sunday.
With the NLDS set up as a five-game series, the Brewers are sitting one win from moving on. They also bring 103 regular-season wins into the matchup, and if San Diego somehow pushes this to a decisive Game 5, Milwaukee could still turn back to Jacob Misiorowski.
In Other News...
Padres Have Every Right To Be Furious About This Game 1 Twist
A strange break in Game 1 of the NLDS put the Padres in an early hole before the baseball really had a chance to breathe. Ty France sent a ball skyward at American Family Field, it struck a cable supporting the roof, and Jackson Chourio came down with it for an out. It was the kind of play that makes everyone in the ballpark stop and check the rule book, even if the answer winds up being more mundane than the reaction.
Under the parks ground rules, the ball stays live if it hits the cable above fair territory, so the ruling was correct. Still, the setting only added to the frustration for San Diego, with MLB controlling whether the roof is opened or closed in the postseason and the roof closed for this game. For a team trying to seize an early edge in October, it was the sort of twist that leaves plenty of room for argument, even if not much room for protest. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Open NLDS With Brutal Ending Fans Wont Stop Debating
The Padres NLDS opener in Milwaukee came down to one of those October moments that can linger long after the final pitch. San Diego dropped Game 1, 3-2, but the conversation afterward centered on Ty Frances drive in the top of the ninth, a ball that looked for a moment like it might flip the game and the series with one swing.
Instead, it hit the closed roof at American Family Field and was caught by Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio for an out, a ruling the Padres challenged before it was upheld under the stadiums ground rules. Milwaukee then finished off the final out, leaving San Diego to regroup and leaving fans to keep arguing about a play that felt one step away from changing everything. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Got A Massive Playoff Break Thanks To One Bizarre Bounce
A strange break in Milwaukee helped turn one of Game 1s biggest swings into a routine out, and the Padres were left to shake their heads. Ty France sent a deep fly toward the roof at American Family Field, where the ball took an odd bounce and was ultimately caught by Jackson Chourio, erasing what looked like a possible go-ahead homer for San Diego.
Craig Stammen challenged the call, but the umpires let it stand under the parks ground rule, which treated the ball as fair after it hit the roof. It was the kind of play that can feel unique to one stadium, one postseason game, and one unlucky sequence, especially since the balls path probably would have played differently in most major league parks. [Read more 🡒]