The Milwaukee Brewers are suddenly one victory away from the National League Championship Series after turning a ninth-inning deficit into one of their biggest wins of the postseason.
Milwaukee rallied for a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup.
Jackson Chourio delivered the decisive blow, producing a two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to send the Brewers into celebration and the Padres home facing elimination.
For much of the afternoon, San Diego appeared positioned to even the series.
Padres starter Michael King kept Milwaukee’s offense under control early, retiring the first 14 batters he faced. San Diego built a lead and entered the late innings with an opportunity to turn the game over to a bullpen that had been one of the club’s greatest strengths.
That plan nearly worked.
With San Diego holding a 3-2 advantage, closer Mason Miller was asked to handle more than his usual workload. He worked through the eighth inning and returned for the ninth with the Padres three outs away from tying the series.
The Brewers refused to cooperate.
After Miller retired Garrett Mitchell, Christian Yelich drew a walk. Sal Frelick followed with another, immediately putting the tying and winning runs on base.
Miller recovered long enough to get Andrew Vaughn on a fly ball for the second out, leaving San Diego just one out away from escaping the threat.
Instead, pinch-hitter Gary Sánchez worked another walk to load the bases.
That brought Chourio to the plate.
Milwaukee’s young outfielder battled Miller into a 2-2 count before attacking a 101 mph fastball and ripping a line drive into center field. Yelich scored easily, Frelick raced home behind him, and the Brewers had completed the comeback.
The hit left Miller and the Padres with a painful ending after coming so close to taking control of the game. San Diego’s closer had been pushed into an unusually demanding outing, and his three ninth-inning walks ultimately created the opportunity Milwaukee needed.
For Chourio, it was another defining moment in a series already filled with them. After playing a major role in Milwaukee’s Game 1 victory, he became the centerpiece of the celebration again in Game 2.
Now the pressure shifts completely to San Diego.
The Padres return to Petco Park needing to win three consecutive games to capture the series, while Milwaukee needs only one more victory to book its place in the NLCS.
October baseball has a habit of turning on a single pitch.
For the Brewers, this one turned into a celebration.
