Mason Miller threw a 101.3 mph fastball with two outs in the ninth. Jackson Chourio hit it to right-center, two runs scored, and the Brewers took a 2-0 NLDS lead.
Milwaukee has won both games by one run. San Diego has stranded 20 baserunners in two games. The series moves to Petco Park, where the Padres have to win three straight.
The Ninth Inning
Trailing 3-2, Milwaukee loaded the bases with walks to Christian Yelich, who then stole second, Sal Frelick and Gary Sanchez. Chourio came up with two outs and two strikes against the hardest thrower in the series and singled home Yelich and Frelick.
Those were his 14th and 15th career postseason RBIs, second in Brewers history behind Ryan Braun’s 16. Chourio is 22. MLB.com notes he has produced more fWAR through his age-22 season than Barry Bonds or Robin Yount did.
Milwaukee committed three errors in that game and won anyway, in front of 41,683 at American Family Field. Logan Henderson started and went five-plus in his postseason debut against Michael King.
Game 1 Was Just as Tight
The Brewers won the opener 3-2, with all three runs coming on home runs. Chourio hit a two-run shot in the third and William Contreras hit the go-ahead solo homer in the seventh off Adrian Morejon.
Jacob Misiorowski gave Milwaukee four innings and two runs, and five relievers shut San Diego out over the final five.
There was also one of the stranger plays you will see in October. Ty France hit a ninth-inning fly ball that struck a roof cable at American Family Field. Chourio caught it, and under the ballpark’s ground rules it was ruled a catch. San Diego challenged and lost.
The Padres Cannot Finish an Inning
San Diego has scored five runs in two games and is 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position. They left 12 on base in Game 1 alone.
Miller took it on himself afterward. “I didn’t do my job today. Instead of being here with a win and the series tied, we’re in a hole,” he said. France was blunter about what comes next: “We have to go and have to win. No ifs, ands or buts.”
Milwaukee Has Been Here Before and It Has Never Ended Well
The Brewers finished 103-59, the best record in baseball and the NL’s top seed under Pat Murphy, in his third season after 93-69 and 97-65. They have never won a World Series and have not reached one since 1982, and the Division Series is where this franchise usually stops.
San Diego finished second in the NL West at 91-71, nine games back, clinching a wild card on Sept. 24. The Padres have never won a World Series either, and a third straight postseason without a pennant is on the table.
Game 3 is Tuesday night at 9:30 ET, Dustin May for Milwaukee against Nick Pivetta. May posted a 1.23 ERA in three starts against San Diego this year, three runs in 22 innings with 22 strikeouts. “He’s pitched fantastic against the Padres,” Murphy said.
That is a bad matchup for a team that cannot drive in a run.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.