The Clubhouse DJ: Chourio's two-out walk-off single off Mason Miller sinks Padres 4-3 for 2-0 NLDS lead
By Nate Mercer ·
Jackson Chourio stepped in with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth Sunday at American Family Field, the Brewers down 3-2 and Mason Miller on the mound. Miller threw him five fastballs, every one of them over 100 mph. Chourio swung through two, fouled off a 103.5 mph pitch and took a slider to even the count at 2-2. Then he lined a 101.3 mph fastball up the middle, past a diving Jake Cronenworth and into center field. Christian Yelich scored, Sal Frelick slid in headfirst ahead of Jackson Merrill's throw from center, and Milwaukee beat San Diego 4-3 for a 2-0 lead in the NLDS. That is a deeply unpleasant pitch to see five times in one at-bat, and Chourio hit it anyway.
"I've got my family here in the stands, so I dedicate this one to them," Chourio said through interpreter Daniel de Mondesert, according to MLB.com. "I don't have words for this."
Miller came on in the eighth trying for his first six-out save since 2024, according to the AP. He struck out Brice Turang and Jake Bauers and got William Contreras on a flyout. Garrett Mitchell grounded out to start the ninth. Then Miller walked Yelich and, after Yelich stole second, walked Frelick. They were the first postseason walks of his career, according to the AP. Pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn flied out to center, and pinch-hitter Gary Sánchez walked on a full count to load the bases. Joey Ortiz ran for Sánchez, and Chourio did the rest. At 40 pitches, it was easily Miller's longest outing of the season in more ways than one.
It was 68 degrees and sunny at first pitch, which is exactly the forecast I want for a patio and a pilsner, and for most of the afternoon it was more fun to think about than the Brewers' offense. Michael King retired the first 14 Milwaukee hitters, six of them on strikeouts.
San Diego scored in the first when Logan Henderson struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. and Dustin Harris, walked Manny Machado, threw a wild pitch and gave up an RBI single to Ty France. In the fifth, Luis Campusano singled, took third on a fielding error by Turang and scored when Harris grounded into a forceout. In the bottom half, Yelich broke up King's run with a two-out double, and Frelick singled him home to make it 2-1.
The teams traded unearned runs in the seventh. Against Abner Uribe, Tatis reached with one out on an error by third baseman David Hamilton, Machado walked with two outs, and France singled to right to make it 3-1. Frelick threw Machado out at third to end the inning. In the bottom half, Mitchell singled and Frelick walked against Yuki Matsui. Bradgley Rodriguez came in and got a forceout, then Cronenworth was charged with two errors on Hamilton's ball, and Mitchell scored to make it 3-2. Chourio grounded out with runners on second and third to end the inning. The game had five errors, and Milwaukee's three tied its season high, according to MLB.com.
Aaron Ashby kept it there in the eighth. Merrill singled and pinch-hitter Samad Taylor bunted for a hit, but Ashby struck out Xander Bogaerts looking and got Freddy Fermin to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. Trevor Megill retired the side in order on nine pitches in the ninth and got the win. Miller took the loss.
The starters matched almost exactly. Henderson went five innings and allowed two hits, two runs (one earned) and three walks with four strikeouts. King went five, allowing three hits and one run with no walks and six strikeouts. Each threw 72 pitches, and each left after hitting the first batter of the sixth.
It was the third postseason walk-off win in Brewers history, according to MLB.com, after Mike Moustakas in Game 1 of the 2018 NLDS against the Rockies and Nyjer Morgan in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS against the Diamondbacks. Morgan threw out a ceremonial first pitch before this one, with his kids alongside him.
Game 3 is Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. Central at Petco Park, and the Brewers need one more win to reach the NLCS.