Jackson

Chourio

Chourio blistered a solo homer the opposite way to give the Brew Crew an early 1-0 lead. The 22-year-old has his second homer of the postseason, and he’s driven in seven runs even while hitting at the top of the lineup for the entirety of the playoffs.

Chourio, who delivered a game-winning single against San Diego superstar closer Mason Miller in Game 2, and the Brewers have a chance to eliminate the Padres on their home field and punch their ticket to the NLCS for the second consecutive season. Here’s the full lineup: Chourio (LF), Jake Bauers (1B), William Contreras (C), Brice Turang (2B), Christian Yelich (DH), Garrett Mitchell (CF), Cooper Pratt (SS), Sal Frelick (RF) and Joey Ortiz (3B).

Chourio won a thrilling six-pitch at-bat with two outs and the bases loaded, fouling off a 104-mph fastball with two strikes that would have retired most batters and then laying off a low slider before crushing a liner on a 101-mph fastball to end it. It was the Brewers’ first hit against Miller after Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick and Gary Sánchez all worked walks. Chourio also homered Saturday, and he has driven in four of the Brewers’ seven runs in the series. Before the incredible ending, it was an oddly sloppy game, with the teams combining for five errors that led to three unearned runs, Dustin May and Nick Pivetta are expected to start Tuesday when the series resumes in San Diego.

Frelick and Hamilton sat in favor of Luis Lara and Joey Ortiz with a left-hander on the mound for the Padres in Game 1 on Saturday, but they’ll jump into the lineup against right-hander Michael King. The Brewers have also shuffled up the order of their lineup. Here’s the full lineup: Jackson Chourio (LF), Brice Turang (2B), Jake Bauers (1B), William Contreras (C), Garrett Mitchell (CF), Christian Yelich (DH), Frelick (RF), Cooper Pratt (SS) and Hamilton (3B).

The biggest development here is Lara getting the nod in right field with Jake Bauers at the cold corner over Andrew Vaughn. It doesn’t come as a surprise to see Bauers in the lineup, but the widely-held assumption was that he would be their primary right fielder in the postseason. It’s basically Lara getting the nod over Andrew Vaughn to face Padres lefty Robbie Ray. Here’s the full lineup: Jackson Chourio (LF), Brice Turang (2B), William Contreras (C), Bauers (1B), Christian Yelich (DH), Cooper Pratt (SS), Lara (RF), Garrett Mitchell (CF) and Joey Ortiz.

Chourio singled in a run in the first, and did the same in the fourth. An injury shortened his season, but it was an excellent campaign for the 22-year-old that saw him bring home 75 runs and hit .291/.351/.487 over 127 games with 25 homers and 23 stolen bases. He’ll hit near the top of the lineup in the postseason for the Brew Crew against the Cubs or Padres next weekend.

It’s the second straight game that the 22-year-old outfielder has been held out of the Brewers’ lineup, though he did pinch-hit on Thursday where he walked, stole a base and scored a run. Chourio has had another outstanding season at the dish, slashing .285/.345/.483 with 25 homers, 71 RBI and 23 stolen bases over 563 plate appearances across 124 contests.

Chourio’s home run was his 25h of the season. He hit a solo shot off Phillies reliever Tim Mayza in the ninth inning. Chourio is hitting .285 with an .828 OPS and 71 RBI. As consistent as they come, Chourio has hit at least .270 with at least 88 runs scored, at least 71 RBI, at least 21 home runs and at least 21 stolen bases in each of his first three seasons in the major leagues.

Chourio swung on a 3-0 changeup from Cade Povich, who left it just high enough for Chourio to make him pay. Chourio deposited Povich’s pitch 440 feet into center field for a three-run homer, giving the Brewers a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning. It was a 24th homer of the season for Chourio, who also singled in the first inning and stole two bases on the night. The 22-year-old outfielder is slashing an impressive .319/.351/.507 this month with three homers and 10 RBI.

The Brewers were up 7-1 after three and 8-1 after eight before the Cubs tried to pull off a furious comeback with Trevor Megill unavailable in the ninth. Chourio’s second homer in two games was crushed, traveling a projected 436 feet. He went 8-for-14 with five RBI as the Brewers swept the three-game series to open up a 10-game lead on the Cubs and all but clinch the NL Central.