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Andrew Vaughn and Jacob Misiorowski discuss Brewers playoff win Oct. 7
Andrew Vaughn hit a three-run homer and Jacob Misiorowski worked three innings of relief in a 7-3 win over the Cubs in NLDS Game 2 on Oct. 7.
- Jackson Chourio hit a three-run homer despite a hamstring injury, helping the Brewers win Game 2 of the NLDS.
- The Brewers took a 2-0 series lead over the Cubs with the 7-3 victory.
- Chourio’s home run was one of two three-run homers for the Brewers, the first in their postseason history.
Jackson Chourio was still 16 years away from birth when Kirk Gibson famously homered in the 1988 World Series, pumping his fist as he gingerly rounded the bases following his walk-off winner in Game 1 against Dennis Eckersley.
The stakes aren’t the same, nor is Chourio’s balky hamstring anywhere near as bad as Gibson’s legs were in 1988. But the idea that Chourio is special, transcending even an injury that made his availability for Game 2 of the National League Division Series a major question mark, continues to grow.
An “inconclusive” MRI on his right hamstring was not enough to keep Chourio from the lineup Oct. 6, and his massive three-run homer in the fourth inning made the decision to play pay off. The 419-foot blast to center field gave the Milwaukee Brewers the breathing room they badly needed in what became a 7-3 win over the Cubs.
“Unbelievable,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s 21 years old and doing the things he’s doing in the first couple games here, in the environment, you just know that’s special. That’s special. We all wish we could have that — have that ‘it’ factor the way Jack-Jack does. I remember when he went to Triple-A for his rehab after his injury (in early August). He went 0 for 18 with 14 punchouts (technically 1 for 19 with a double and eight strikeouts), everybody was panicked.
“Then the first day in Toronto, the first live pitch he saw in the big leagues, he hit it out the park and the kid grabbed it took it back. But he wasn’t satisfied, so then he homered the next time and then doubled the next time. The guy’s just got that ‘it’ factor.”
Milwaukee now has a 2-0 lead in the NLDS, with the series shifting to Chicago on Oct. 8. That means an extra off day for Chourio to get rest on his hammy before Milwaukee goes for the sweep at Wrigley Field.
The 21-year-old has played in five postseason games and has reached base at least twice in all of them, including an unprecedented three times in two innings on Oct. 4 before he left with the tweak. Coupled with his two homers in Game 2 of the wild-card series last year, he now has three career postseason bombs.
“That kid, he shows — he posts in the biggest games of the year,” Murphy said. “It’s pretty fun.”
Murphy revealed before the game that Chourio would lead off and play left field, a day after indicating that Chourio would be a game-time call after going through pregame warmups. The first batter of the game, Justin Turner, sent a line drive right in his tracks, but the bigger test came in the fourth when Michael Busch’s drive to left flirted with foul territory, and Chourio had to range for the catch next to the side wall.
Chourio played eight of the nine innings in the field, finally ceding his terrain to Brandon Lockridge in the ninth.
“I feel like I’m in a really good position to go out there and compete, so I’m going to go out there and give it the best that I can,” Chourio said through interpreter Daniel de Mondesert. “I felt like I was able to do that today and go out there and make all the plays I needed to make and continue to play the game pretty normal.
“Like I was saying, I’m going to continue to go out there and compete and give the best version of myself I can.”
He still wasn’t moving at full speed; a sharp single to Dansby Swanson would have been an out if the Cubs shortstop had tried to get a lightly-running Chourio at first base instead of playing for the lead runner and throwing the ball into right field. But it was a step in a positive direction for the franchise phenom.
Strangely enough, the Brewers came into the game without a single three-run homer or grand slam in their postseason history, with the previous 48 homers accounting for two runs or less. Andrew Vaughn broke that seal with his game-tying three-run blast in the first, and then Chourio had an encore.
Down 0-2 after fouling off two pitches against flame-throwing Daniel Palencia, Chourio got a third 100-plus mph pitch and didn’t miss. The 101.4-mph pitch from Palencia was the second-fastest pitch in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) a Brewers player has hit for a home run.
“I really just like playing in these moments,” Chourio said. “I think you could say it helps me play at the maximum level that I’m able to do so, and thanks to God that I’ve had the ability to play in these moments that are important and meaningful and get some of these big hits whenever they’re needed but also do some of the little things whenever they’re needed.”
As MLB stats guru Sarah Langs pointed out, Chourio’s three postseason homers are tied for sixth most for any MLB player before turning 22, behind Juan Soto (5), Miguel Cabrera (4), Bryce Harper (4), Andruw Jones (4) and Mickey Mantle (4).
His nine RBIs in the postseason are tied for third with Paul Molitor in Brewers history for any player, behind only Ryan Braun (16) and Cecil Cooper (13), who was on hand to throw out one of the game’s ceremonial first pitches.
The 7-3 lead lasted the rest of the way, with Brewers pitchers retiring 15 straight to close the game.
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