Jackson Chourio’s two-out, two-run single off San Diego closer Mason Miller in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Milwaukee Brewers over the Padres 4-3 on Sunday and gave them a 2-0 lead in their National League Division Series.
Milwaukee trailed 3-2 entering the final inning at American Family Field and was down to its last strike when Chourio, 22, turned on a 101.3 mph fastball on a 2-2 count. The line drive skipped past a diving Jake Cronenworth at second base and into center field, and Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick raced home as a sellout crowd of 41,683 celebrated, according to MLB.com.
The Brewers, who won a franchise-record 103 games in the regular season, are one victory from the NL Championship Series. Game 3 of the best-of-five series is Tuesday night in San Diego.
How the ninth inning unfolded
Miller, who converted 38 of 41 save chances during the regular season, worked a perfect eighth and stayed in looking for a six-out save, something he had not recorded since 2024, The Associated Press reported. After a leadoff groundout, he walked Yelich, who then stole second, and walked Frelick.
Pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn flied out for the second out. Another pinch-hitter, Gary Sánchez, then took six straight pitches for a walk that loaded the bases. Chourio fouled off a 103.5 mph fastball and laid off a slider before driving Miller’s 40th pitch of the day up the middle.
It was the first time this season that Miller had blown a save in a game that ended on a walk-off, MLB.com reported. “I didn’t do my job today,” the right-hander said afterward.
Chourio told reporters he had noticed Miller’s control wavering in the at-bats before his and expected to see a fastball at some point. Yelich said the young outfielder thrives in those spots. “He loves those moments,” Yelich said.
A growing October résumé
The hit was the third postseason walk-off in Brewers history, after Mike Moustakas’ winning hit in the 10th inning of the 2018 NLDS opener and Nyjer Morgan’s game-winner in the deciding Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS, according to MLB.com. Both of those games were tied going into the final inning. Sunday’s was the first time Milwaukee won a playoff game by rallying from behind in its last turn at bat.
At 22 years, 207 days, Chourio is the second-youngest player ever to end a postseason game with a hit, trailing only Edgar Renteria of the 1997 Florida Marlins, the AP reported. He is hitting .327 with 15 RBIs in 14 career playoff games, and his five postseason home runs are a franchise record.
The rally made up for an error-filled afternoon by the home team. Logan Henderson, making his postseason debut, threw a wild pitch that led to a San Diego run in the opening inning, and Milwaukee made three errors, matching its season high. Padres starter Michael King set down the first 14 Milwaukee hitters, and Ty France drove in two runs for San Diego.
Game 1 on Saturday night also came down to the ninth. Chourio hit a two-run homer and William Contreras broke a 2-2 tie with a solo shot in the seventh in Milwaukee’s 3-2 win. With a runner on first and one out in the ninth, a deep drive by France struck a cable hanging from the stadium roof and fell into Chourio’s glove in left field, the AP reported. The Padres challenged the call, arguing the ball was foul, but the out stood. Under the ballpark’s ground rules, a batted ball that strikes the roof or its cables over fair territory stays in play and can be caught.
What’s next
Game 3 is set for Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy chose right-hander Dustin May, who had a 1.23 ERA in three starts against San Diego this season, two of them for St. Louis before the Cardinals traded him to Milwaukee at the trade deadline, MLB.com reported. Padres manager Craig Stammen picked right-hander Nick Pivetta, who has a 1.64 ERA since returning Sept. 7 from a right elbow flexor strain that sidelined him for five months. Teams that won the first two games of a best-of-five series have advanced 83 of 93 times, according to MLB.com.
