Chourio's walk-off single stuns Miller and the Padres, 4-3, and puts the Brewers one win from the NLCS
San Diego led 3-2 in the ninth at American Family Field on Sunday. Mason Miller walked the bases loaded, and Jackson Chourio's two-run single made it a 2-0 series hole. Game 3 is Tuesday at Petco Park.
MILWAUKEE: The Padres are one loss from elimination after Sunday's 4-3 walk-off loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Division Series at American Family Field. San Diego carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, handed the ball to All-Star closer Mason Miller for a six-out save, and watched it fall apart on three walks and one swing.
Miller retired Garrett Mitchell on a groundout to open the ninth, then lost the strike zone. Christian Yelich walked and stole second, Sal Frelick walked, Andrew Vaughn flied out to center, and pinch-hitter Gary Sanchez walked to load the bases. That brought up 22-year-old Jackson Chourio with two outs and the balance of the season on the line.
Chourio worked the count to 2-2, laying off a tempting slider below the zone, and then laced a fastball back up the middle. Yelich and Frelick both scored, and the Brewers spilled onto the field with a 4-3 win that put them up 2-0 in the best-of-five series.
"Terrible," Miller said when reporters asked how he felt afterward. "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."
"The cardinal rule is pretty much: You don't beat yourself. And I beat myself today," Miller added. "I mean, a base hit with nobody on doesn't win them the game. A base hit after you walk the bases loaded does." The quotes were reported by Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The decision to ride Miller for six outs
Padres manager Craig Stammen sent Miller out for the eighth, where he threw a clean 12-pitch frame, and left him in for the ninth. Stammen said the plan was in place before the game. "Top of the lineup in the eighth probably made that decision for Mason," Stammen said. "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."
Miller was the most dominant reliever in baseball this season, with a 1.67 ERA, 38 saves in 41 chances, and 129 strikeouts over 70 innings across 66 relief appearances, throwing a four-seamer that averaged 101.3 mph. On Sunday he threw more than 35 pitches and could not find the plate when it mattered most.
Historic company for Chourio
According to OptaSTATS, Chourio became just the second player in major-league history to deliver a walk-off hit with his team trailing against the pitcher who led his league in saves, and the first since Kirk Gibson's famous homer off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. It was Chourio's second career walk-off hit and his first in the postseason, and the third postseason walk-off win in Brewers franchise history.
What comes home to Petco
The series shifts to Petco Park for Game 3 on Tuesday, with Milwaukee's Dustin May matched against San Diego's Nick Pivetta. Teams that have won the first two games of a division series have gone on to win the series 83 of 93 times, about 89 percent, according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs. The Padres need three straight wins to reach the National League Championship Series.
None to date. The Tribune corrects errors promptly and transparently. Read our corrections policy.
