Chourio’s Walk-Off Single Lifts Brewers Over Padres 4-3 for 2-0 NLDS Lead
Down to their last strike in the ninth, the Brewers loaded the bases with three walks off closer Mason Miller before Jackson Chourio's two-run single finished a 4-3 comeback and the third postseason walk-off win in club history.
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers were a strike away from a flight to San Diego with their season suddenly much harder. Then the most dominant closer in baseball could not find the strike zone, and Jackson Chourio made him pay for it.
Chourio lined a two-run single to center field with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday, scoring Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick to give the Brewers a 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres in Game 2 of the National League Division Series. Milwaukee leads the best-of-five series 2-0, with Game 3 set for Tuesday at Petco Park in San Diego.
San Diego carried a 3-2 lead into the ninth and handed the ball to Mason Miller, who was attempting to complete just the second two-inning save of his career and his first since 2024, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Miller had retired Milwaukee in order in the eighth. In the ninth, his command vanished: the Brewers drew three walks to load the bases without a hit, according to Fox News, and Chourio – who had also tied Game 1 on Saturday with a two-run homer in the third inning, according to USA Today – delivered the biggest hit of the series so far.
“I’m not sure what it is,” Chourio told Fox Sports after the game, according to USA Today. “I just think these moments were made for me. I think it gives me extra adrenaline, and that’s what gets me through it.”
Three walks, one swing
The rally began with Yelich, whose walk and stolen base kick-started the inning, according to the Journal Sentinel. “We believe in ourselves. We believe in our team,” Yelich said. “We knew we were going to put up a fight there and see what happened. Just a credit to the guys. We’ve been doing it all year, just being tough and finding ways to get the job done.”
Miller was blunt about the collapse. “Terrible,” he said, according to Fox News. “I didn’t do my job today, so instead of being in here with a win and a series tie, we’re in a hole, so it feels pretty bad.” He added: “The cardinal rule is pretty much: You don’t beat yourself. And I beat myself today. A base hit after you walk the bases loaded does.”
Padres manager Craig Stammen defended the decision to leave Miller in for a second inning. “Top of the lineup in the eighth probably made that decision for Mason,” Stammen said, according to Fox News. “Going into the game, we were thinking of Mason for six outs anyway, especially how quick the eighth inning went for him. He was just battling the strike zone there at the end.”
A comeback years in the making
San Diego had struck first again. The Padres built their lead behind run-scoring plays from Ty France and Dustin Harris, according to Fox News, after Milwaukee starter Logan Henderson pitched five innings and allowed two runs, one of them earned, according to FOX6 News. Frelick drove in a run for Milwaukee, and Garrett Mitchell scored on a Padres error as the Brewers chipped away, in a game the Journal Sentinel described as following the same script as Game 1: San Diego scored the first two runs, and Milwaukee fought back to win.
It was the third postseason walk-off victory in franchise history, according to the Journal Sentinel. The first was authored by Nyjer Morgan, whose single in Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS beat the Arizona Diamondbacks at then-Miller Park; Mike Moustakas delivered the other in Game 1 of the 2018 NLDS against the Colorado Rockies, also at home. Fittingly, Morgan was in attendance on Sunday.
“So many great performances today,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, according to the Journal Sentinel. “One of the favorite games I’ve been a part of. Just happy for the club, happy for the city, that they got to witness something so special.”
The series now shifts to San Diego, where the Padres – who won 20 of 23 games to finish the regular season and swept the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card round, according to Fox News – face elimination. Trevor Megill was credited with the win for Milwaukee, according to FOX6 News. One more Brewers victory sends Milwaukee to the National League Championship Series; the Padres need three straight to survive.
Reporting based on coverage by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, USA Today, Fox News and FOX6 News.
