Jackson Chourio Bests Mason Miller: 3 Takeaways From The Brewers' Walk-Off Win

The Brewers have a flair for the dramatic, and their stunning come-from-behind win on Sunday is one for the history books.

Down to their final strike, trailing the Padres 3-2 in the ninth inning, Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio walked it off against none other than Padres closer Mason Miller, who was completely spent after throwing 40 pitches in 1 2/3 innings. Chourio, who only had one hit all night entering the ninth, came through with a walk-off single for a 4-3 Brewers win.

There was pandemonium at American Family Field after Milwaukee secured a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five National League Division Series. San Diego’s formula of Michael King starting and its exceptional bullpen finishing had worked all year, but it faltered when it mattered most. The Padres are reeling from a devastating start to the series. The Brewers, meanwhile, are just one win away from advancing to the NL Championship Series.

Here are my takeaways:

1.

Jackson Chourio Bests Mason Miller

The moment that San Diego had been waiting for was also Milwaukee’s nightmare. But the Brewers knew this moment was coming, and they were so, so ready.

The Padres used four relievers in Game 1, but none of them were Miller. Finally, Padres manager Craig Stammen unleashed his best weapon in the eighth inning of Game 2, asking his closer to secure the final six outs and deliver San Diego its first win of the NLDS. Even though Mason Miller is, well, Mason Miller, this was still a big ask. He had pitched two innings just twice this season, the most recent time on Sept. 4 against the Yankees.  

Miller went to his triple-digit heaters and mowed down the heart of Milwaukee’s order in the eighth, throwing 102 mph fastballs to record a clean 1-2-3 inning against Turang, Jake Bauers and William Contreras. But things got trickier in the ninth.

Jackson Chourio is mobbed after his walk-off winner on Saturday at American Family Field. (Getty Images)

The best closer in baseball right now, Miller permitted back-to-back walks to Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick with one out in the ninth. He was fast approaching 30 pitches, so the Padres shrewdly tried to calm Miller down with a mound visit. It worked, briefly. Miller got Andrew Vaughn to fly out to center for the second out, but then he lost his command and walked Gary Sanchez, who pinch-hit for No. 9 hitter David Hamilton.

It was time for the dream matchup, as Jackson Chourio dug into the box with the bases loaded against Miller. What did Miller do? He saved his fastest, most lethal pitch for the final at-bat, painting the zone with a 104 mph fastball that Chourio just got a piece of. That was telling. Miller seemed like he didn’t expect Chourio to be ready for all that heat.

Chourio patiently took the fifth pitch of the at-bat, a low slider, and waited for something faster. Finally, he connected on a 101 mph four-seamer and ripped it into center field, scoring Yelich and Frelick and walking off the game. The base hit left Chourio's bat at 109.5 mph.

After tying the game at 2-2 with a two-run home run in the third inning of Game 1, the always clutch Chourio, who thrives in pressure-packed situations, came through for the Brew Crew again.

It was pure madness in Milwaukee as his teammates jumped on him in the infield and Miller slowly walked back to the dugout. The Brewers are headed to Petco Park with the edge they needed.

2.

Brewers' Gloves Let Them Down Early

Jackson Merrill’s leaping catch at the wall that robbed Christian Yelich of extra bases. Tatis Jr.’s hustling diving catch in right field that prevented Milwaukee from scoring a run. Manny Machado doing what he does best, waving off his pitcher, bare-handing a ground ball and firing it to first for the out.

San Diego put on a show with its brilliant defense on Sunday, and even though the Brewers had their share of eye-popping plays — looking at you, Cooper Pratt, with the leaping catch at short and David Hamilton with the over-the-shoulder basket catch in shallow left — they still committed three errors on Sunday, which nearly cost them the game.

Twice, Tatis put pressure on the Brewers defense with his speed. Tatis hit a pair of routine ground balls in the top of the fifth and seventh innings, and each time Milwaukee’s infielders got flustered and couldn’t rip off clean plays. In the fifth, the typically sure-handed second baseman Brice Turang committed a fielding error that moments later allowed the Padres to score a run. In the seventh, Brewers third baseman David Hamilton couldn’t corral Tatis’ ground ball, and Tatis eventually came around and scored on France’s RBI single to right field in that same inning.

It was super uncharacteristic for the Brewers’ fielding errors to almost become their downfall in Game 2. They annually rank among the top 10 in the league in metrics like Defensive Runs Saved, Defensive WAR and Outs Above Average. This season, Milwaukee finished with the seventh-fewest errors (72) in MLB.

But the regular season is a thing of history once October hits. The Padres were just cleaner and sharper with the leather in Game 2. And in a short series, something as simple as tighter fundamentals can typically make all the difference. But the Brewers didn’t let their mistakes snowball, at least, to help keep them in the game until the game-winning David vs. Goliath at-bat between Chourio and Miller in the ninth. 

3.

France Finally Gets His Big Hits

Call it revenge, or just good old-fashioned coincidence. Denied a run-scoring hit in Saturday’s Game 1 due to that pesky roof over American Family Field, Padres first baseman Ty France instantly collected his RBI in the first inning of Sunday’s Game 2.

San Diego capitalized on Milwaukee's mistake when Padres third baseman Manny Machado drew a two-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Brewers rookie right-hander Logan Henderson. Right away, France lined a looping single into right-center field that scored Machado from second and put the Padres on the board with an early 1-0 lead.

That had to feel good to France, who less than a day prior was at the center of one of the most bizarre plays ever seen at Milwaukee’s home ballpark. In the ninth inning on Saturday, with the Padres trailing the Brewers by one run, France hit a potential go-ahead home run that plunked off a cable on the roof of the stadium in deep left field. Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio caught the ball, and it remains up for debate where the ball would have landed had a cable not been in its way.

France didn’t waste time picking a side of that debate, saying after the Brewers’ 3-2 win, "I knew it was going out." At least on Sunday, France hit it where there would be no arguments about it being fair or foul territory. He can’t get Game 1’s decisions back, but he still has time to control his and San Diego’s own destiny. Later, in the seventh inning, France collected another RBI on a single to right field that scored the hustling Fernando Tatis Jr. from second.

3 ½. What's Next?

It was critical for the Brewers to secure at least one win at home before they go on the road to Petco Park, where one of the best home-field advantages in baseball awaits. Imagine their delight at going on the road with a 2-0 series lead. Still, the Padres relied on the crowd’s raucous energy and loud support to quickly dispose of the Cubs in the Wild Card series, and they’ll be looking to do more of the same when the series goes back to San Diego on Tuesday.  

Brewers right-hander Dustin May (7-9, 4.70 ERA) will go toe-to-toe against Padres righty Nick Pivetta (3-2, 2.86 ERA) in a pivotal Game 3.